The GPR and Other NFL Reflections

The Grandstander Power Rankings following the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs....

1. Packers
2. Chiefs
3. Bucs
4. Bills

• The Chiefs fall to Number Two due to the uncertainty surrounding the status of Patrick Mahomes.
• The Packers looked unbeatable after thoroughly dismantling the Rams.
• The Browns won the opening coin toss, and deferred, thus putting the ball into Patrick Mahomes' hands to start the game.  Why in God's name would a team do that?  (Mahomes proceeded to  lead the Chiefs on an a TD drive to begin the game.)
• A case can be made for anyone of of these teams being ranked in any order.  From a field of fourteen, the NFL ends up with the four best teams, I think.  They are most certainly the four best teams that started out in the Playoffs.

A few words about Tom Brady.  He (and a very strong TB defense) won that game over the Saints on Sunday, and he is going to his FOURTEENTH Conference Championship Game on Sunday.  There really are no words to describe all that he has accomplished.

Nobody living today, I am confident in saying, ever saw Babe Ruth play baseball, but we are all getting the chance to see Tom Brady do things that can only be described as Ruthian, football-wise.  You may not have to like him, but you have to like seeing what he has done and continues to do on a football field.

Oh, and if you don't like him, look  up the video of him talking with Drew Brees and his kids on the field of the Super Dome long after the game ended on Sunday.  Might change your mind, if even only a little bit.

(At this point, I was going to write something about the news that the NFL this week welcomed into its Head Coaching ranks none other than Urban Meyer.  Have decided to defer that unpleasant topic to another day.)

Now it is on to what might be my very favorite day of the year on the sports calendar  - NFL Conference Championship Sunday.

An old school AFL Match-up between the Bills and Chiefs with two dynamic young quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.  A Packers-Bucs Match-up with two dynamic old quarterbacks,  Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.  Like I said earleir, I don't think that the NFL could have scripted it any better.

Predictions will come later in the week.

Championship Sunday Reflections

Random thoughts on this past Sunday's NFL Championship Games.....

• Without question, the single most dazzling play of the the weekend, if not of the entire season, was the 27 yard touchdown run by Patrick Mahomes that (a) put the Chiefs ahead 21-17, and (b) effectively ended the game.  We are seeing a passing of the torch in quarterbacking in the NFL (a subject of a future Grandstander post whenever I get around to organizing my thoughts on the topic) with a new wave of young and exciting QB's getting ready to take over, but there can be no doubt as to who the best of the New Wave is, and that is the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes.

• What the Tennessee Titans did to close their season, make it into the Playoffs as the final wild card team, and then defeat both the Patriots and the Ravens on the road, was remarkable.  Mike Vrabel should be the Coach of the Year because of it.  It was great story.
• The Titans fell because the Chiefs were able to take Derrick Henry out of the ballgame, and they did so not only with the explosiveness of Mahomes and his receivers, but by controlling the ball themselves and eating up a lot of the clock on drives.  San Francisco, take note.
• If the 49'ers-Packers NFC title game had been a prizefight, the refs might have stopped in midday through the second quarter.  Vince Lombardi must have been rolling in his grave watching the Packers defense get shredded by the 49'ers.
• Aaron Rodgers (much like Lamar Jackson the week before against the Titans) rolled up lots of gaudy passing numbers in the second half, when the game was already lost, but he came up small in the first half with an interception and two lost fumbles that led to a 27-0 halftime lead for San Francisco.  His facial expressions and body language throughout that game were those of a beaten man.  Very un-Rodgers-like.
• Raheem Mostert.  I must confess that up until Sunday, I had never heard of this guy, and with good reason.  In the last two years, he has been cut by six different NFL teams, and the 49'ers are his seventh team.  This past Sunday, however, we saw him rush for over 200 yards and score four touchdowns.  There is a very strong likelihood that he will never even come close to another day like that again in his career, but for one day, and maybe one day only, he was a reincarnation of Jim Brown and OJ Simpson rolled into one.
• Mostert went to Purdue University where he also ran track and was a teammate of my friend Stephanie Bonk, so I can claim two degrees of separation from him.

So this leads us to a very interesting Super Bowl match-up in two weeks.

After watching the playoffs for the last three weeks, I don't think that there is any doubt that the two best teams survived and are advancing to Miami.  This leads to the final Grandstander Confidence Rankings (GCR) of the season:

1. Chiefs
2. 49'ers

San Francisco is a very good team, and if any defense might be able to contain Mahomes, it might be this one.  The Niners can also run and control the ball, to the point where QB Jimmy Garoppolo only had to throw eight passes in the game on Sunday.  That could serve to keep KC and Mahomes off of the field, but the same was said about Derrick Henry and the Titans going into the AFC title game, so the Chiefs know how to play defense, too.

It is an intriguing match-up, to be sure, and I won't give an official prediction until closer to Super Bowl Sunday, but I will restate my long held belief:  When in doubt, go with the team with better quarterback, and we know who that is.

NFL Playoffs and the New GCR

Once again, the National Football League delivered the goods to its fans this past weekend in the Divisional round of the Playoffs.

• 49'ers over Vikings.  This is the one game that I missed die to other obligations.  It seems that this was the most pro forma of the four games this weekend, so if I had to miss one, that was probably the one to miss.
• Titans over Ravens.  This was easily the most stunning result of the weekend as sixth seeded Tennessee ousted the 14-2 Ravens.  The numbers show that presumptive league MVP Lamar Jackson had a big night with over 100 yards rushing and 400+ yards passing.  However, he also had two interceptions and a lost fumble, all at critical times, and at points when it could have made a real difference in the ball game, he failed to convert two different fourth-and-one opportunities.  Jackson is a marvelous player, fun to watch, and as a Steelers fan, I dread having to face him twice a year for the next decade or so, but he came up short on Saturday, despite the 500 yards of offense.
• Chiefs over Texans.  After falling behind 24-0 early in the second quarter, the Chiefs scored touchdowns the next seven times they had the ball and won in a blowout, 51-31.  This was stunning in a whole different way than the Titans win was, and it proved that Patrick Mahomes and not Lamar Jackson (not yet, anyway) is still the New Sheriff in town.
• Packers over Seahawks.  It was a valiant comeback effort by Seattle at Lambeau Field, but Aaron Rodgers and the Packers held on and won 28-23.  Russell Wilson certainly made it exciting, but Rodgers is letting the world know that he ain't done yet.

This all sets up one of my favorite sports days of the year - NFL Championship Sunday when the Super Bowl participants will be determined.  To me, the Super Bowl itself is often anti-climactic after this doubleheader.  Anyway, that leads us to the revised Grandstander Confidence Rankings after this weekend:

1. Chiefs (#2 last week)
2. 49'ers (#3)
3. Packers (#4)
4. Titans (#8)

Can't wait to see what the betting lines will be when I toddle on down to the Rivers Casino later this week.

********

Meanwhile, another football game will be played tonight to settle the National Champion of College Football.

The match-up of two undefeated teams, LSU and Clemson, and their marvelous quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Brooks Lawrence, should be terrific and a fun game to watch.  My only question is...why wasn't this game played last Monday night instead of tonight, sixteen days after the semi-final match-ups on December 28?  It lends the game an air of "anti-climax" after such a long delay. 

My prediction, and my money, is on LSU (at -5.5) to win the game.  Can't wait to hear the mellifluous tones of Ed Orgeron.

NFL Playoffs - Grandstander Confidence Rankings

The Steelers season came to a merciful end with that 28-10 shellacking that the Ravens junior varsity laid on Rooney U yesterday afternoon.  The game wasn't as close as the score indicated.  Just as well that the dominoes didn't fall the way they needed to to get the Steelers into the Playoffs.  Had they made it, the mighty forces of Duck Hodges and Company would have had to travel to Foxboro next week to play the Patriots, and we all know how THAT always turns out.  In the end, sometimes you just have to shoot the horse to put it out of its misery, and that is exactly what John Harbaugh and has crew did to the Steelers last evening.

A more thorough post-mortem of the 2019 Steelers will appear in this space in the days ahead.  Or maybe not.  We'll see.  In the meantime, all of you who anxiously awaited the weekly unveiling of the Grandstander Power Rankings (GPR)  throughout the season are now about to be treated to subjected to the Grandstander Confidence Rankings (GCR) of the twelve teams set to tee it up in the NFL Playoffs.  Here you go.....

1. Ravens.  Here is a fun fact:  The Baltimore Orioles have lost a game more recently that the Baltimore Ravens.  This team has been unbeatable since October, and Lamar Jackson seems unstoppable.  On to Miami on February 2.
2. Chiefs.  One can only hope for a Jackson-Mahomes match up in the AFC Championship game.  That should be an amazing game.
3. Saints.  Drew Brees on a role.  But for a horrendous non-call in last year's NFC Championship, the Saints may well have won the Super Bowl last year.  They will be playing in it this year.
4. 49'ers.  But for  a James Conner fumble in Week 3, the Steelers would have beaten this team, so I have some reservations, but they have held strong all season long.
5. Packers. This  is a team that hasn't gotten a lot of respect all season, yet here they are, a division champ with a first round bye.  And Aaron Rodgers.
6. Seahawks.  Russell Wilson carved the Steelers up in week 2 like a Thanksgiving turkey, and their overtime win in Week 8 over the 49'ers on MNF might have been the most entertaining game of the season.  I have been bullish on this team all season long, but injuries have caused some stumbles in the closing weeks of the regular season.
7. Patriots.  All season long we have been hearing how this Pats team isn't very good, Tom Brady is a shell of his former self, and the Pats Dynasty is done.  Somehow, they've managed to eek out a 12-4 record and a division title, and only a mystifying loss to Miami yesterday prevented them from securing a first round bye.  Maybe that really aren't what they used to be, but I'm still going to have to see somebody kick them out before I'll bet against them.
8. Bills. Perhaps the surprise team of the year.  A very strong defense will make them a tough team to play in the Playoffs.
9. Vikings.  Gotta be honest here.  I don't have much to say here.  I don't believe that I saw this team play all year, but they went down to the last weekend in the race for the NFC North title, so here they are.
10. Texans.  Deshaun Watson at QB makes these guys exciting to watch.
11. Titans.  It took until Week 17 for these guys to beat out the Steelers for the final playoff spot, so how much faith can you have in them?  Will Ryan Tannehill continue what he has done since being named starting QB?
12. Eagles. The NFC East race this year may have been one of the weakest in recent memory in the NFL.  The Eagles were pretty much dead midway through the season until a complete collapse by the Cowboys allowed 9-7 Philly grab the division title.

The Wildcard Weekend match ups are as follows:

• Bills vs. Texans
• Titans vs. Patriots
• Vikings vs. Saints
• Seahawks vs. Eagles

I'll wait until later in the week to make my predictions, but at first blush I would say that the best looking game of the weekend will be the Vikes-Saints on Sunday afternoon.

Can't wait to get started.

NFL Playoffs, Week #1, and the GCR, plus a CFP Prediction

Thoughts and comments after Wild Card Weekend.....

• With final scores of 24-22 and 23-17, the Cowboys-Seahawks and Chargers-Ravens games would appear to have been close contests.  They weren't.
• Biggest Egg Laid on Wild Card Weekend:  The Houston Texans who fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter against the Colts at home, and were never for a moment in that game.
• If Andrew Luck isn't the comeback player of the year, then they ought not to even have that award.
• Indy HC Frank Reich - who may well be the NFL Coach of the Year - needs to lose that beard.  Not to be insensitive, but he looks like a guy who stands at a busy intersection during rush hour and asks for your spare change while the light is red.
• Lamar Jackson may well be the Next Great Quarterback in the NFL, but his performance yesterday shows that he is still very much a work in progress.
• The poor kicker for the Bears is taking all the heat for that clanger off the upright at the end of the game yesterday, but this should be remembered: With the season and playoff future on the line, the vaunted Bears defense allowed the Eagles to march down field with under four minutes to play and score the winning TD on a fourth down pass with under a minute to play.  So, yeah, it was all the kicker's fault.
• I fear that if the Super Bowl ends up being Patriots vs Cowboys, the TV viewers will miss at least  third of the game because network cameras will be overloading us with owner's box shots of Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft.
• On at least three occasions during these four games, I saw punts and/or kickoffs returned for significant and meaningful yardage, something that I cannot remember seeing the Steelers do in all of this past season.

The GCR (Grandstander Confidence Ranking) only went 50/50 in picking the winners for Wildcard Weekend (right on Cowboys and Chargers, wrong on Colts and Eagles).  2-2 headed into next week.

And speaking of the GCR, here's how those rankings look after the first round.  Note that I have decided to go to a more conventional 1 through 8 ranking, rather than the higher confidence number through the lowest as I did last week.

1. Saints
2. Chiefs
3. Chargers
4. Rams
5. Patriots
6. Colts
7. Cowboys
8. Eagles

I know that I should be giving more love to the Eagles, but somebody had to be Number 8.  There are twenty-four other teams who WISH that they were #8 in the GCR.

That leads to the GCR predictions for next weekend:

• Chiefs over Colts
• Patriots over Chargers*
• Saints over Eagles
• Rams over Cowboys

* You will note that I have one variance in my predictions with the GCR.  According to the rankings, the Chargers should beat the Patriots, but I just can't bring myself to pick against the Pats.  Yeah, I know people have been saying that the Pats dynasty is beginning to crumble, that Tom Brady is showing his age, but until it actually happens, I just can't allow myself to pick against the Patriots in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. Plus, I don't trust Phillip Rivers in this spot.

So there you are.  As always, watch, but don't bet.

********

There is also another significant football game to  be played tonight, Alabama vs. Clemson for the national championship in the final of the College Football Playoff.  An entire season of college football was played, we sat through weeks of hype and discussion as the CFP rankings were released each week, we saw two absolute stinkers played in the semi-finals of the CFP last week, so we could come down to this:  Alabama vs. Clemson for the fourth straight year in the CFP, the third year in the Final game.  Perhaps we could save ourselves a lot of angst and melodrama by just penciling in these two teams for this same game next year as well.

Well, if it is repetitive, we are assured of one thing -  a competitive and exciting game, as each of their meetings in the past three years' CFP games have been.  On can only hope after seeing those two clunker semi-final games, and some less than compelling NFL games this weekend.

I am calling for an Alabama win, but I have discarded my usual "watch, but don't bet" advice.  While at the Rivers Casino last week, I visited the new sports book and  placed a $15 wager on Clemson getting +5.5 against the Tide.

NFL Playoffs 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers season began with a tie that felt like a loss, and it ended yesterday with a win that also felt like a loss.  In all honesty, I was almost relieved when the Ravens held off the Browns to win that game and eliminate the Steelers from the playoffs.  When you have to struggle so hard to beat a crummy team like Bengals 16-13, you just know that a Playoff Run by the Steelers this year would have been short-lived, and, frankly, I'll be glad not to suffer the stress that Steelers playoff games always give me, win or lose. 

The Grandstander will be doing a post-mortem analysis of the Steelers season at some point this week, but for today, let's look forward to the upcoming NFL Playoffs.

Throughout the NFL season, I have been doing a weekly Top Four (College Football Playoff-style) ranking of all NFL teams.  For today, I am going to expand upon that and give you my confidence ranking of all 12 playoff teams with a ranking of 12 being "most confident" down to 1, which would be "least confident".  Call it the "Grandstander Confidence Rankings", or GCR:

12. Saints

11. Chiefs

10. Chargers

9. Rams.

8. Patriots

7. Texans

6. Ravens

5. Cowboys

4. Bears

3. Eagles

2. Colts

1. Seahawks

Agree or disagree?  Would love to hear your comments and opinions.

Anyway, using these confidence rankings, here are my predictions to NFL Wild Card Weekend coming up on Saturday and Sunday:

• Texans over the Colts
• Cowboys over Seahawks
• Chargers over Ravens
• Bears over Eagles

Actually, the only one of these picks where I might be a bit shaky is the Chargers over the Ravens.  Baltimore beat the Chargers a few weeks ago in LA and this game is in Baltimore, so if there is to be an upset as defined by the GCR, this would be the one.

I will be redoing the GCR after each Playoff weekend.

Oh, and you know how I always say, "watch but don't bet"?  Well, I will be visiting the Rivers Casino on Wednesday, so I may get a wager down one or two of these games, just to make it interesting.  I wonder if I can get a bet down on the Over/Under for the number of times "Phillip Rivers Whines To The Officials"?  I would for sure bet the OVER on that one.

Championship Sunday Reflections

Comments and thoughts from yesterday's games.....

• In this space yesterday, I predicted victories for the Patriots and Eagles, so, I BELIEVE I HAD THAT!
• True, I did predict that the Pats would "crush" the Jaguars.  That didn't happen, but, somehow, the manner in which New England did win had to be far more soul crushing to the Jags and their supporters than a 30 point blow out would have been.
• When Jacksonville kicked a field goal to go up 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, I posted the following on Facebook (I really did; you can look it up): Jax up by 10, 14:52 to play. I’m STILL saying New England wins this.
• Say it with me....I believe I had that.  
• Actually, and I didn't post this, when NE scored at the end of the first half to cut the Jags lead to 14-10, I figured that Brady and Co. were going to do it again, which is why I made that post at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
• For some perverse reason, I found myself rooting for New England in that game.  Maybe it was because of the way Jacksonville handed it to the Steelers last week, or maybe it was because it seemed that the Jags were overly chesty early in in the game, or maybe it's because you just have to admire sustained greatness over time, which is what the Belichick-Brady Patriots are, or maybe because it's because my recently discovered cousin and friend Jan Spencer lives in Maine and roots for them.  That said, I still can't stand the constant shots of Bob Kraft and his blue shirts-with-white-collars in the owner's box.
• As bad as it was seeing the Steelers get beat by Jacksonville last week - and that was really bad - would it have been worse to see them go to Foxboro yesterday and lose to New England yet again (which you know would have been the result)?  That's your existential question for the day.
• By the time the Eagles-Vikings game came on at 6:40 PM, I was pretty well spent, and the Eagles took all of the excitement out of that one fairly quickly.  In fact, I was amazed at the relative ease in which the Vikings were dispatched in that one.  I even switched to the SAG Awards in the fourth quarter.
• The hand-wringing and woe-is-us talk is already starting among Steelers fans about how the Patriots may now equal the Steelers' total of six Super Bowl Championships.  Oh, the humanity!  If something like that is really that important to you, I suppose I should envy you, because you just must not have any real problems in your life.

I will end on a serious note.  Rob Gronkowski left the game in the second quarter after being concussed after taking an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit from a Jacksonville defensive back.  New England lost perhaps the best position player in the NFL for the rest of the game, and, who knows, maybe for the Super Bowl in two weeks.  Jacksonville lost 15 yards.  We have seen these kinds of hits take place week after week in NFL games.  If the NFL is serious, really serious, about player safety and trying to prevent concussions as much as possible, a 15 yard wrist slap is not enough.  The player delivering the illegal hit needs to be ejected from the game immediately.  No questions asked.  Apologists will say "but not all of those hits are deliberate", and that is no doubt true, but it shouldn't matter.  The player making the hit needs to be kicked out of the game. That is, if the NFL really means what it says about player safety.

NFL Playoffs Thoughts

Some thoughts on the NFL Divisional Playoff round.  You know, that was the round where The Grandstander posted perfect 4-0 prediction record. (Yes, I believe I had that!)

Game of the Weekend.  Hands down, Green Bay's 34-31 win over Dallas.  That game had everything one could possibly want in a football game.

Play of the Weekend. The pass from Aaron Rodgers to Jared Cook along the sideline with :03 left in the game to set up the game winning field goal for the Packers.  Not sure what was more impressive, Rodgers' throw, Cook's ability to catch and keep his toes in bounds, or the game official seeing it and over-ruling the initial call of incomplete.

Runner-up Play of the Weekend.  Ben Roethlisberger's third and three pass to Antonio Brown from inside his own ten yard line to make first down and enable the Steelers to run out the clock and preserve their 18-16 win.

Surprise of the Weekend (to me anyway). How good the Atlanta Falcons were.  I hadn't seen Atlanta all season, so, like I said, this one surprised me.  Sets up what should be one whale of a game between Atlanta and Green Bay and an Aaron Rodgers - Matt Ryan showdown/shootout.

What Is He Doing Here? Award.  This one goes to Houston QB Brock Osweiler, and do I have to go into the details on this one? Whomever the genius was in the Houston Texans brain trust who decided to bestow a $72 million contract upon this guy has got to be concerned about HIS job security right about now.

He's Proved Himself Award.  This one goes out to Dallas rookie QB Dak Prescott who was pretty terrific in that game against Green Bay (and all season long, for that matter).  Tell me again what some people (ahem, Jerry Jones) were suggestion that Tony Romo would be brought into that game if Dallas fell behind early.  Dallas did fall behind early, and it was Prescott who led them back into that game and almost won it for them.  Best wishes to Romo as he goes to a new team for next season, because it sure looks like Prescott is going to be The Goods for Dallas for years to come.

The Other Guy.  To be honest, I had to go to the Google Machine to look up who Atlanta's coach was as I was watching that game on Saturday.  The NFL has a Final Four of coaches that counts nine Super Bowl appearances and six Lombardi Trophy winners, Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, and Mike McCarthy.  And the Other Guy.  Dan Quinn.

Are They Vulnerable?  Despite the fact that the Texans were easily the worst of the eight teams that played this past weekend, they were able to hang with the Patriots for at least the first half of the game, so it raises the question, Are the Patriots vulnerable?  Houston's pass rush did get to the Golden Boy a few times in that first half and made him look like a 39 year old quarterback.  Of course, they play four quarters, not just two, and Tom Brady was definitely Tom Brady by the time all was said and done, but the question lingers....

Most Valuable Talisman.  For the second week in a row, these babies produced a Steelers Playoff victory:

Yes, I will be wearing them again come Sunday at 6:38 PM.  Belichick and Brady....BEWARE, and #FearTheSocks. Many thanks to pal Joe Risacher for coming up with that hashtag.

Predictions.   Not ready to make them yet, but here's a hint:  Back in September I predicted that the Steelers would win the Super Bowl, and I am not about to back away from that prediction.  As for Green Bay and Atlanta, I need to cogitate just a bit more on that one.  Look for the call(s) come Friday.

Patriots and Cardinals Advance

Off the top of my head thoughts on yesterday's NFL Playoff games.....

• I thought Rob Gronkowski was supposed to be injured.
• Why would any team win the coin toss and then choose to defer, thus giving the ball to Tom Brady and the Pats to start the game?
• When Brady hit Gronk for a TD on that opening drive, I posted this on Facebook: "The Chiefs will not lead at any point in this game."  I believe I had that.
• That was a marvelous, textbook, time consuming touchdown drive that the Chiefs engineered in the fourth quarter.  Only trouble is that it consumed too much time and the Chiefs were down by fourteen, not seven, points at the time.  What could Andy Reid have possibly been thinking?
• A lot of the so-called experts said that the Patriots were vulnerable in this game.  Sure didn't look that way to me.

• For about three and one-half quarters that Packers-Cardinals game was a bit of a snoozer.  But then...WOW.  A game like that is why you follow sports.
• For those first three and one-half quarters, was it a function of really good defense, or a couple of inept offenses?
• I admit that I didn't see the Cardinals all year, but if Carson Palmer played like that all year, how did they win thirteen games?
• In winning that game last night, Palmer may well have been the luckiest player in the NFL all season.  Especially after that fourth quarter interception in the end zone that he lobbed up to Green Bay.   That was a certifiably awful throw.
• Did you notice that the Cardinals started to make things happen when they decided to start throwing the ball to Larry Fitzgerald?
• That game tying drive that Aaron Rodgers put together, with no time outs, less than a minute to play, and after being sacked back to the two yard line, and included not just one, but two unbelievable Hail Mary passes, will be forgotten because the Packers lost the game, but that was just Amazing and Unbelievable with a capital A and a capital U.
• How in God's name does a defense allow Larry Fitzgerald to be standing all by himself with no defender within 15 yards of him?  In overtime of a playoff game no less.

And not to pick on the zebras, but how can that guy screw up a coin flip? Also, and this isn't the Officials' fault, but the endless debates and reviews on what is or is not a "Catch" are totally ridiculous and absurd.  That it was even subject to debate both on one Fitzgerald reception and the Green Bay reception that tied the game was, well, I hate to use the same world twice in the same paragraph, but it was absurd!  And we have seen that dance in almost every NFL game this season.  Something really needs to be done about that.

Looking forward to that Steelers-Broncos tussle today.  More so than how an impaired Ben Roethlisberger will play today, it will come down to this: Which version of the Steelers defense will show up today, and which version of Peyton Manning will show up for Denver?

#HereWeGo.

It's Playoff Time...and Other Football thoughts

(Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Yes, the Steelers put themselves in a jam by losing twice to the woeful Ravens this year, yes, they put themselves in jams by losing to teams that they should have beaten, and, yes, they needed help from the Buffalo Bills to back-door their way into the NFL Playoffs, but you know what?

Who cares???? THE STEELERS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!!!

********

And speaking of those Buffalo Bills, I happened across this meme on Facebook today, and its too good not to share:

********

I am pleased to see that the Steelers have drawn the Bengals as their opening round opponent this year.  Yeah, the Bengals are better than in past years, but Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton have yet to win a playoff game, and maybe this will be the year when that will change, but, all things being equal, I'd rather see the Steelers play Cincy than any other team in the draw.  As I have often said, you can always count on the Bengals being the Bengals, and I'll keep saying that until they prove me wrong.

I will say this, however.  The injury to RB DeAngelo Williams is alarming, and it brings back thoughts to last year when the Steelers lost LeVeon Bell in the last game of the season.  Unable to run the ball, they were swamped by Baltimore in the opening round.

********

Back on September 10, I wrote a pre-season forecast post for the Steelers.  You can read it here http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2015/09/are-you-ready-for-some-football.html if you like, but among things that I said in that were:

I will also say this....if Number 7 goes down for any significant length of time, kiss a winning season and the playoffs good-bye.

Number 7 did go down early on and missed four games.   The fact they the Steelers, with Mike Vick and Landry Jones at the helm managed to go 2-2 in those games was remarkable.  Roethlisberger went on to have perhaps his greatest season ever, despite that clinker n Baltimore last week.

I also wrote this:

So, you want a prediction, here's one:  10-6 and in the Playoffs.

As they say, I believe I had that.  Unfortunately, I didn't bet on this with anyone.

********

Is there a more dysfunctional organization in all of sports than the Cleveland Browns?  I the last eleven seasons, the Browns have employed five head coaches: Romeo Crennel (4 seasons), Eric Mangini (2), Pat Shurmer (2), Rob Chudzinski (1), and Mike Pettine (2), and now are looking for yet another one.  Owner Jimmy Haslem, who before buying the Browns had been a part owner of the Steelers.  The Steelers, as everyone knows, have had three head coaches in the last 47 seasons. Haslem, obviously, didn't hang around the Steelers front office much when he was in Pittsburgh, or if he did, he sure didn't learn anything when he was there.  

As was pointed out on the CBS telecast yesterday, each of the first four guys had been fired after losing the final game of the season against the Steelers, and now Pettine become Victim #5 in this peculiar litany.  What are the odds of that?

It can also be noted that the Browns once had and then fired Bill Belichick as their head coach, although to be fair, that was the "old" Browns of Art Modell that made that move.

In any event, good luck to whomever the poor guy is that the Browns hire to right this sinking ship.

********

And speaking of predictions, how did Sports Illustrated do in it's pre-season NFL forecast?

Well, the twelve teams that they predicted, in order of playoff seeding, were:

AFC: Broncos, Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Texans, Steelers

NFC: Eagles, Packers, Seahawks, Panthers, Cowboys, Rams

They were right on four teams in the AFC, three in the NFC.  In the AFC they were wrong in missing the Bengals and Chiefs, and they were way wrong in calling for the Colts and Ravens, who both pretty much stunk this year.  In the NFC, they were way wrong with the Eagles, and the Cardinals, who are the #2 seed in the Conference, were going to be a last place team according to SI.  They also had the NFC East champ Redskins assigned to last place in that division.  They also had there Ravens winning the Super Bowl.

Well, as Yogi Berra might have put it, when it comes to predicting the NFL, you don't know nothin'. Nobody does.

Broncos vs. Seahawks

Well, I spent about seven hours planted in front of the TV yesterday watching both highly anticipated NFL Conference Championship Games.  As often happens with highly anticipated match-ups, the games, especially the AFC game, did not live up to the advance hype.

In Denver, Peyton Manning and his crew pretty much dispatched the Patriots with ease.  New England never seemed to be quite in that game at all, and when they did threaten to make it interesting in the fourth quarter, any hope for suspense disappeared when that two point conversion failed.  The Evil Coach and his Golden Boy Quarterback have been vanquished, and the "Can Peyton Get One More Super Bowl Win?" story line has been established.

In Seattle, a similar scenario seemed to be unfolding with the 49ers taking a first half lead against a Seattle team that didn't seem to be there at all.  I mean, the famous Seattle "12th Man" showed up, but where were the other eleven guys?  That changed completely in the second half with a lot of back and forth scoring, another terrific long TD run from scrimmage by Marshawn Lynch (does he do that in every game?), some interesting calls, or non-calls, by the officials, and three critical Colin Kaepernick turnovers that sealed the deal for the Seahawks.

(Random thought:  If the NFL has turned Mike Tomlin into Public Enemy #1 for standing in the white sideline stripe in Baltimore, what does that make Jim Harbaugh and his sideline antics? Seriously, that guy is completely berserk.)

And, of course, for anyone sitting on the fence as to whom to cheer in the Super Bowl, that decision was made very, very easy by the bush league antics if Seattle's Richard Sherman in the closing moments and post-game.  After making a terrific defensive play that ended the 49ers' hope to take the lead and win the game, he makes choking gestures and taunts SF receiver Michael Crabtree to the point of drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and if that wasn't bad enough, his post game interview with Erin Andrews was right out of Vince McMahon's WWE playbook.  Credit to Andrews who, in so many words, pretty much said "what is YOUR problem?"

It was interesting to see the Seattle fans on social media last night defending Sherman.  "He's a great guy"..."he has a masters degree from Stanford" (and I'm sure that Stanford University was just SO proud of him last night)...and the inevitable "but what about Greg Lloyd/Ernie Holmes/Ben Roethlisberger/name any other jerk athlete and how THEY act?"  Well, you know what, you may be right about those guys, but Sherman still came off as a bush league punk.

By the way, I went 1-1 in my predictions for the games raising my record to 7-3 for this post-season.  I think I know how I'm leaning on the Super Bowl, but I'll wait until closer to game day to make it formal.

The Games of Sunday

Someone made the comment on Facebook that NFL Conference Championship Sunday is better than Super Bowl Sunday, and it is hard to argue that point.  The games of two days ago are certainly a case in point with two home, higher seeded (one a #1 seed at that) teams losing and NOT SCORING a point in the second half of each game.  Remarkable.

And here's an amazing fact about the upcoming Super Bowl of which you might not be aware.  The opposing coaches are brothers!  Can you believe that?  Two guys born of the same parents, who grew up in the same house, are actually going to be coaching against each other in the Super Bowl.  I can't believe that no one has mentioned that before.

Anyway, some thoughts and comments on the two games on Sunday, many of which I had previously shared on Facebook.....

• Concerning the results, the Bad News: Two more weeks of Ray Lewis b.s.  The Good News: We won't have to see a thousand or so shots of Bob Kraft in the Owner's Box during the Super Bowl.
• Before you point it out to me, yes, I know I went 0-for-2 on my predictions for these games.
• As mentioned in my pre-game comments, the Atlanta coaches certainly did figure out a way to stop Colin Kaepernick from running all over the place on Sunday.  Too bad for them, it turns out that Kaepernick is a pretty good passer, too.
• I saw Julio Jones did more for the Falcons in three quarters than the Steelers "Young Money" troika of Wallace-Brown-Sanders did all season.   
• The ease with which Frank Gore could get in the end zone when the 49'ers were inside the ten made me wonder if the SF offensive line is THAT much better than the Steelers line, or were the Steelers running backs that much worse than Gore.
• While I did believe that New England would beat Baltimore, I did feel that Baltimore had a reasonable chance to win.  That they won with such dominance and comparative ease amazes me.
• Even though he was on the losing side, Wes Welker is an amazing football player.
• Did you catch the look of complete disbelief on Tom Brady's face in the fourth quarter, particularly after throwing that interception that sealed the deal for Baltimore?
• Speaking of Brady, am I the only guy who thought that his foot was aimed just a bit too high on that Baltimore defender when he slid towards the end of the first half?  Ty Cobb would have loved it, but Czar roger should relieve him of some cash, in my opinion.
• When Matt Ryan threw that incomplete pass on fourth down from the 10 yard line late in the game, how many of you flashed back to Neil O'Donnell against the Chargers in the '94 AFC Championship Game?
• So, Bill Belichick goes true to form and refuses an interview with CBS after losing the game.  (a) Stay classy, Coach, (b) aren't coaches REQUIRED to do such interviews with the NFL's network partners?, (c) if so, will coach Bill be fined by Czar Roger?, (d) Shannon Sharpe now becomes a folk hero, and (e) to take another point of view, did we really miss anything by NOT hearing from Coach Bill?
• Contrary to many Pittsburghers, I do not find the Harbaugh Brothers repellent, in fact, I kind of like both of them (even if I don't care for the Ravens), and I think the Brothers Coaching Against Each Other is a pretty cool story, even if it will get beaten to death over the next two weeks.
• I also know that despite what they may say in public, I am pretty sure that each brother wants to beat the hell out of each other.
• Speaking of coaches, was it Walt Harris or Dave Wannstedt who thought Joe Flaco wasn't worth playing at Pitt?  Yeah, I know, hindsight is 20/20, but still...
• As for me, I will be rooting for San Francisco in the Super Bowl for the following reasons.  (1) In like Jim slightly better than John, (2) I don't like the Ravens, (3) the Ray Lewis sycophantry, (4) The Colin Kaepernick Story is a very cool one, and (5) unlike many Steelers fans, I am not threatened by the idea that a 49'er win will tie them with the Steelers with six Super Bowl titles.

That Was The (Football) Weekend That Was

I am pretty sure that you are expecting my ruminations on the football weekend that just was, and that is just what you are going to get, but why, you are no doubt asking, am I leading with the picture above, albeit one of the more famous photos in American political history?

For you youngsters out there, this was taken on election night in 1948 when just about everyone thought New York Governor Tom Dewey (aka, The Man on Top of the Wedding Cake)  would defeat President Harry Truman and become the nation's 34th President.  As you can see, the Chicago Tribune even issued their early edition on election night proclaiming Dewey's victory.  Again for you youngsters, in 1948 there were no computers, exit polls, or Nate Silver.  As even the most history challenged among us surely know, Harry Truman won the election.

All of this is a lead in to summarizing the results of the predictions I made on Friday for the four NFL playoff games of the weekend.  I will save you the trouble of going and looking it up, but I went 1-3 on the weekend, and in my finest "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment, I made the following authoritative statement:

 Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49'ers

Aaron Rodgers vs. Colin Kapernick.  Need I say more?  Should be another easy win for the PACKERS.

Yeah.

I even misspelled Colin Kaepernick's name, a mistake that I will surely never make again.

Some quickie comments on the games themselves.....

• While I was rooting for Seattle against Falcons, I was delighted to see Pete Carroll get bitten on the ass when he called that time out to ice the Falcon kicker at the end of the game, only to see the kicker miss the field goal, which would have won the game for Seattle.  Given a second chance, the kicker made it, Falcons win, Seahawks lose, Pete Carroll looks like an first class dunce.  Maybe this will stop these "brilliant" coaches from  employing this insipid bit of strategy.
• Next time all you Steelers fans want to run Ben out of town for those inopportune interceptions in the Cowboys and Bengals games this season, think about that one Peyton Manning threw in OT in Denver on Saturday.
• Maybe it's time we stop ridiculing Joe Flaco's abilities as an NFL QB.  He really undressed Denver in the waning moments of regulation.
• Same for Matt Ryan in Atlanta.
• OK, that Denver game.  Tied with 31 seconds and two times out in your pocket, and Peyton Manning at quarterback, and John Fox chooses to nave Manning take a knee and go to OT.  Are you kidding me?  Don't you take at least one shot down field to try to get into FG position?
• (Did you notice that I said "times out" in the above bullet?  That, friends, is the correct plural of the term "time out" - you can look it up - but I don't think that there is a single sportscaster in America who doesn't mistakenly say "time outs".  The last guy I heard say "times out" was Ray Scott, and he stopped doing network broadcasts in the late 1970's and has been dead since 1998.)
• Getting back to Colin Kaepernick,   He was easily the most outstanding player of the weekend.  Wish he wouldn't strike that pose when he scores a touchdown, but he's just a kid, after all, and I'm a grumpy old man.  In any event, I can't wait to see him play again next Sunday.
• Only words I can use to describe the New England Patriots:  ruthlessly efficient.
• Of the eight teams playing this weekend, only the Houston Texans looked like they didn't deserve to be this far along in the Playoffs.
• I know that I am in a distinct minority here, but I don't mind the Harbaugh brothers. They are obviously good coaches, and I like it that they are emotional on the sidelines (as opposed to robots like Bill Bellichick and Nick Saben), and while I am not a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, I think it would be a cool story line to have brothers opposing each other as Head Coaches in the Super Bowl, although it would be a story that would be totally and completely beaten to death in the run up to the game.

In closing, let me weigh in on the controversy surrounding Brent Musberger's observations about Alabama QB A. J. McCarron's girlfriend.  Yeah, maybe it was creepy, and yes, he definitely went on too long with it, but he was broadcasting a game that had ceased to be a competitive contest, and he had to talk about something, right?  He got going and he just couldn't stop.  It happens, and who knows what YOU would do in front of a live microphone in such a situation.  The suits at ESPN who are reprimanding Musberger and apologizing for what he said, maybe ought to reconsider all the cleavage-and-cameltoe shots they give us of cheerleaders, especially the pole dancers who "cheerlead" for NFL teams, on the sidelines before they get too sanctimonious over Brent Musberger.