The NFL kicked off the Playoffs for the 2019 season this past weekend with two of the four games being decided in overtime, and the one game that didn't go into OT saw the Tennessee Titans send the defending champ Patriots packing from the post season. Can't get much more exciting than that, can you?
The weekend saw three guys playing quarterback who were over the age of forty. Raise your hand if would have predicted that the one from that trio who would play the best would be Josh McCown. Alas, Tom Brady and Drew Brees looked like over forty year old guys playing quarterback in the NFL. Brady's last play was an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and Brees' last play was fumble that was lost and, essentially, ended the game for the Saints.
One of the most interesting things that took place was Titans coach Mike Vrabel's use of taking delay of game and false start penalties as a way to bleed the clock as the 5:00 minute mark of the fourth quarter approached. Full disclosure: I was unaware of the intricacies involved insofar as when the clock stops and when it keeps running at these points in a game, so I learned something. Anyway, watching Bill Belichick's head nearly explode as Vrabel took advantage of these rules was great fun. It should be noted that Vrabel both played for and coached under Coach Bill in New England, so he probably learned such tricks at the foot of the Master himself, and he used it to hoist Belichick on his own petard. Like I said, how fun was that?
Much has been speculated that this might have been the Last Hurrah for Tom Brady, if not in the NFL completely, then perhaps as a New England Patriot. Whatever the next step for Tom Brady will be will certainly be a noteworthy topic over which to navel gaze, and I will wait until we know precisely what that is before, uh, gazing at my navel over it.
If you went by the Grandstander Confidence Rankings to make your bets last week, you would have lost three of the four wild card games. Like I said at the time, if that is what you did, you did so at your own risk. In any event, here is the revised GCR as the NFL heads into Round Two.....
- Ravens
- Chiefs
- 49'ers (up from #4 last week)
- Packers (up from #5; has there ever been a team with a "quieter" 12-3 record?)
- Seahawks (up from #6)
- Texans (up from #10)
- Vikings (up from #9)
- Titans (up from #11)
The match-ups for this round:
- Titans @ Ravens
- Texans @ Chiefs
- Vikings @ 49'ers
- Seahawks @ Packers
Will provide further thoughts and predictions later in the week.
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