Impressions of the Playoff Weekend just completed.....
So how did The Grandstander do on his predictions for this past weekend's playoff games?
- Falcons over Rams. I believe I had that.
- Jaguars over Bills. I believe I had that.
- Saints over Panthers. I believe I had that.
- Alabama over Georgia. I believe I had that
- Chiefs over Titans. Hey, nobody's perfect!
That's a 4-1 record, and you could make it 5-1 when I made the subjective prediction that, and I quote, "the Jacksonville-Buffalo game could turn out to be one of the worst Playoff games that we will have seen in recent memory. I mean, Tyrod Taylor vs. Blake Bortles?"
Did these guys stink up the joint, or what?
Honestly, who is going to argue about the God-awful exhibition of football that that game was?
Other thoughts....
- The Chiefs have now lost six consecutive Playoff games at home. That really has to mess with your mind if you are a Chiefs fan. No doubt that Andy Reid is a terrific coach, but the inability to win in the playoffs is...troubling.
- I was anxious to see the Rams play. You know, young up and coming team with a potential superstar QB playing in his second year, and a young up-and-coming head coach. They fell to the Saints, and much of that can probably be traced to playoff inexperience on their part. I couldn't help but be reminded of the 1972-73 version of the Noll/Bradshaw Steelers, who made the playoffs, but didn't go all the way until there third year in the post-season.
- I am not sure what else can be said about that steaming heap of a road apple that the Jags-Bills treated the world to on Sunday. You can say, "hey, it was two great defenses out there, what did you expect?", but, are you kidding me? I mean, how in God's name did the Bills manage to win nine games with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback?
- NFL teams all have a starting quarterback, a backup QB, and a third QB who dresses but is inactive on game days. That's 96 quarterbacks in the employ of NFL teams. Theoretically, at least, Taylor and Bortles, are among the best thirty-two of those, which means that, again, theoretically, there are sixty-four quarterbacks cashing NFL paychecks that are not as good as they are. If that isn't Exhibit A in Colin Kaepernick's collusion suit against the NFL, it should be.
- I have a personal friend who is an NFL game official, so I generally recuse myself from making comments about the zebras. I know how hard my buddy works, and I know how much he knows about the rules, and I can only assume that all the other refs are the same. That said, there were some real gaffes on display this past weekend (for the record, my friend did not officiate any of the four NFL wild card games). And it really should not be that hard to determine what is or is not a catch. And how about some consistency? Not to beat a dead horse, but if Jesse James' touchdown against New England last month was NOT a catch, then the interception that ended the Jacksonville game should not have been allowed to stand.
Then there was last night's Alabama-Georgia CFP Championship Game, won by Alabama 26-23 in overtime. For the first half of that game, the teams seemed to be trying be at least as boring as the Bills and Jags were the day before. If you gave up and went to bed at halftime, no one would have blamed you.
Then there was that second half! Alabama,after trailing the entire game, ties it late in the fourth quarter, then misses a chip shot FG that would have won it, then wins it in overtime. The only time they led in the game was when they scored on the final play of the game, a 41 yard touchdown pass. The offensive player of the game, deservedly so, was Alabama quarterback Tuo Tagovalioa,
Tuo
but the real credit for this win goes to, not surprisingly, Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who had the onions to yank his ineffective starting quarterback, the kid who led 'Bama to a 13-1 record all season, at halftime and replace him with the freshman Tagovalioa. How many other coaches would have done that? There is a reason why Saban is the best college football coach in the last forty or so years, or at least since Bear Bryant hung up his whistle.
Did I mention that Tagovalioa was a freshman? You might have missed ESPN announcers Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstriet mention that fact. (Imagine a giant sarcasm emoji here.) And please, please, PLEASE let's rid ourselves of the phrase "true freshman". This is one that Herbstreit continually beats to death game after game, season after season. He's one of the better analysts on the job these days, but this particular annoying habit of his makes me want to throw a shoe at the TV every time I hear him.
One final observation. Alabama defensive player Number 48 (I'm not going to bother looking up his name) got hit with an unsportsmanlike like conduct penalty for throwing a punch at a Georgia player, got into a fight with one of his own coaches on the sideline, and got away with questionable tackle late in the game that probably should have gotten him a second penalty and ejection from the game. I am figuring that this kid is right now at the very top of the Cincy Bengals draft board. He'll fit in perfectly down there.
