Trash Talk – Week 15
I started on several versions of Trash Talk only in order to make it all less political. Trash will not always be non-political, but I will try. Kind of.
So, Eagles cannot play with the Ravens today. Maybe next year, but not today. Who cares about the Browns and Bills? The Cheese will be playing Da Bears is the “Coldest Game In Chicago History”. Supposedly. Cheese is good cold, Bears hibernate. Jaguars/Texans is pretty much a who cares thing, much like Browns and Bills. Sorry Houstonian friends! But it is what it is.
Colts at Vikes may, curiously, be worth paying attention to. Colts have done better lately, but still are effectively the JV squad without Andrew Luck. Vikes are exactly the Colts, but with a better defense and no Luck. Exciting!
Steelers will beat the Bengals from all rights and appearances. Wish Scribe would still come around to chat about such things. Also, think Pittsburgh is a team that is scarily coming together late in the season, and needs to be paid heed to.
Saints and Cardinals are playing in the “who gives a flying fuck bowl”. 49ers and Falcons are too, but the Dirty Birds think they are contenders. So did Marlon Brando.
The best game, hands down, this week is Patriots at Broncos. If you follow Pats and Donks beat writers, and I do, there has been a TON written about this game. All brilliant of course, from both sides. I am not so brilliant, but, having seen them in action, not sure how Donks can score enough points to overcome the Pats worst. But TB12 and Bill Bell are NOT so good in Mile High. So, I have no confidence in my pick. If I had to bet real money, it would still be on Brady and Bill Bell. Sorry about that.
If the Raiders cannot beat the Chargers in their once and (maybe not) future home, then the Rayduhs are pretenders. I think the Silver and Black are, kind of, for real. Enough that they will not lose to the Bolts anyway.
Music today by BOC, with OD’d On Life Itself.
Go Raiders. The 9ers oh well, lots of rumors on the future of the mismanagement of the team.
Who will win the seat at Merc? Bottas? Then again with cry baby Hamilton in trashing the team orders will they resign him after 2017?
Team Luck! Team Rayduhs!
Ah, the Chargers. Rumored to be joining the Rams, where they will likewise discover that Angelinos interest in professional football has the half-life of Californium-253. (jim – did i do it right?)
Hey, you know, between the Rams and Chargers, if they merged, there might a competitive team there. Maybe Norval Turner could come back and coach it.
DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT.
I know Aaron Rodgers seems like a nice guy but I hate him.
Oh hai!
Where is Lefty?? I have been waiting to get the Skins skinny.
I said previously think Washington takes the Panthers. But that is not to say it could not be a trap game. Panthers have been such disjointed screwups this year it seems hard to remember what they did last year. Like the Cardinals here, they may be wounded, but you never know when they will break out of the funk.
Still, fingers crossed for the Skins.
Oops, I apologize. The ‘Skins/Panthers game is this evening so I sort of took yesterday off to hang with grandkids. Then we got distracted by the ongoing drama of RG3 in Cleveburg. Doesn’t seem like he’s got a learning curve. This is the third coach he’s failed to thrive under.
‘Skins are several point favorites and need a win to stay in the playoff hunt, so there is incentive for them. OTOH, the cats have a 3-0 record with them, which does not bode well. They’ve pretty much had the ‘Skins number, including a fortysomething to damn little blowout last year. A local columnist is calling it the “Josh Norman Bowl” with some cause. He’s the bright spot on defense for both teams. While you can’t blame all Carolina’s woes on letting Norman go, they certainly have not thrived without him. We’ll see how well Cousins does against that secondary tonight.
Speaking of Cousins, like last year he’s doing better as the season wears on. He’s had several 400+ yard games and is ready to break team season records in the 1st quarter tonight. Gruden and OC McVey have designed an offense he can be productive in, but have not figured out how to help him get in the end zone from the red zone. We’ll see what tonight’s chapter brings. Oh, and the once bullet proof field goal guy has become disturbingly mortal.
O line is back together for the first time in a couple of months, so the prospects are good there. “Fat Rob” Kelly has been a hard hitting running back and getting better with each game. RB Mike Jones looks like he’s going the RG3 route, not even suited up after one too many fumbles and failures to run until he was actually tackled. Like Griffin it seems he was so good in HS and college he never actually had to learn how to play football. Can’t get away with that in the NFL.
With the O line and Kelly perhaps Gruden/McVey will figure out how to run the ball and not wander off into the air when they should be punching out yardage on the ground. All pro left tackle Trent Williams is back after a month long suspension following more NFL legal foolishness. The up side is that he says he’s never felt this good at this stage of the season.
A day late and a dollar short, but hope it’s still of some interest. The game could be worth watching tonight. Unless, of course, it’s overshadowed by the Electoral College game. But, their team hasn’t ever beaten the spread, and only occasionally tied.
What is it with kickers this year?? They are all blowing kicks all over the place. The Cards guy is suddenly terrible after couple of very good years, bunch of others seem that way too. Including the Pats guy Goskowski.
Strange isn’t it? There was a set of about a dozen missed extra points and short field goals a couple of Sundays ago. The clips were of miss after miss after miss. Bounces off the outsides of goal posts, but not insides. Could kickers hit the uprights if they tried?
The earth’s axis has shifted? Putin? Goodell repealed Boyles Law for quarterbacks and kickers too? Weird, especially after last year when they were pretty damn good, and it’s mostly the same bunch of guys.
Second thought. Kicking is a tough gig, all confidence and nervelessness. Kickers watch the sportscasts and read just like the rest of us. Suppose we could trace it back to someone they respect missing a kick and everyone else tightening up a little and clutching? Sort of “Uh Oh if so and so missed one, I sure could too, I better be extra careful and focus real hard”. That’s when the auguring in begins and with each miss it gets worse all across the league. Sound plausible?
!@#$%^&* Hopkins just missed a PAT against Carolina.
Yeah, that game didn’t go well. Ooof.