I don't care why the Packers keep winning whether it be because of their defense or their offense. Just keep winning! Go Pack!
Once the Jets fired Rex Ryan, it was clear sailing.
That Woody Johnson has a heck of a football mind.
Woody's a big Trump fan too. The guy's brilliant.
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Because these what-we-learned-in-the-NFL articles run on Monday mornings, the teams who play on Thursday or Monday nights may as well be on another planet. Either these articles should run on Tuesday, or the NFL should go back to playing all its games on Sunday.
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I learned this week, even though I've known it for a very long time that the NFL, MLB, NHL AND the NBA are all rigged leagues and there's nothing we can do about any of it because they're nothing but entertainment venues and nothing else. It's kind of like the movies. Movie directors and actors and producers can tell us any story they choose and so can the pro sports leagues.. Sorry for bursting your collective bubbles, but it's the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The author misses the point about the win by the 49ers. They managed to beat the Steelers somewhat handily DESPITE giving up 5 turnovers. A lesser team wouldn’t have been able to overcome those miscues.
"A scary thought for the Chiefs: The Ravens failed on three 2-point conversion attempts."
That would be a scarier thought if the all-time NFL record (shared by only 6 teams) for 2-point conversions in a single game was not two.
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Ravens lost by 5 points. If they had scored 6 more, and held the Chiefs to 33, they would have won!
Great analysis! Quick, go and send a text to John Harbaugh so he can use it for next week's game.
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"Cleveland’s defense does not look nearly as good as some had hoped." What game were you watching? Hold the Rams to 20 - 3 in the first half? 3 takeaways? The Browns defense looked terrific. Hopefully, the offense catches up.
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@RJR Correct - not to mention that the entire starting defensive backfield for Cleveland was out. The Browns have issues, for sure, but the short take of this writer was off. Apparently he was too busy to actually watch the game last night.
Its nice that the Giants won - but the Bucs kicker basically lost the game. It would have been a repeat of far too many games over the past few years - allowing a team to score last and win. It was a matter of luck missing such a short kick.
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Re Daniel Jones NYG: Most of the intelligent criticism i read was based on where\when the NYG drafted him- not against him personally ( although i am sure there was some of that too - it goes with the turf). So, he’s mobile and ran for touchdowns that Eli Manning never could. He caught them by surprise yesterday- but he’s not going to earn his living getting away with that in the NFL.
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@James Osborne . The difference between Eli Manning and Daniel Jones is that Jones' ability to move will extend plays so that receivers can get free. Eli is strictly a pocket passer, Jones isn't. Eli could have run for the 2nd of Jones' TDs but not the first. I love Eli and have been a supporter his entire career. It's time for a younger qb to take the reigns of the NY Giants. Jones looks like he might be the real deal. As far as catching anyone by surprise, I think not. Any scouting report will tell you that Jones can run. He's no Kyler Murray or Baker Mayfield or Lamar Jackson. But his passes had some zip and he also has some touch. Eli is the QB of yesterday, Jones is more modern. To be a QB in this day and age you must be able to run. Jones was the pick, as a fan I will rally behind him and thank Eli for some wonderful years. And I also believe Eli belongs in the HOF, 2 Super Bowl rings against the greatest team of his era. And I would take Eli over Peyton, Rivers and Roethlisberger any day of the week. One last thing: Eli suffered under the worst GM in Giants history. If he had had a better team, he would have had better stats. But ask Dan Marino about stats. I'd bet he'd give them all up for a Super Bowl ring.
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Re: Ravens and “Had those plays gone the other way”: And if your mother had wheels she’d be a wagon. The Chiefs scored the most points, that is called a win. The Ravens scored fewer points, that’s called a loss. Andy Reid left no points on the field. His opponent left at least 11. Ravens did beat the spread, so I guess that’s something.
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@Dick Brummel Had those plays gone the other way, the Chiefs would have been passing for more touchdowns instead of running for field goals. It is clear Andy Reid becomes too conservative too early, such as at the end of the first half.
As a Saints fan I would love to pretend that Mark Ingram is still playing for New Orleans as the Top Runners stat line suggests, but alas.
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There is no question that Daniel Jones looked great for the Giants. His play even seemed to spark the NYG defense in the second half. My concern would be that between his running - which is great - but opens him up to being hit downfield and the hits, knockdowns and sacks he absorbed on pass plays, his physical well being might be jeopardized. The Giants need to protect him far better than they did on Sunday. However, if they’d bolstered their offensive line when they needed to we might not be talking about Jones at all - Eli Manning would still be under center.
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As good as Dallas and New England are, and despite a win is still a win, let's take a step back, and look at their opponents.
Now, let's see how well they fare against teams with records at or above .500; preferably the latter.
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In the Jets at Patriots game, the MVP for the Jets was the Patriots themselves. The Jets should have scored 0 points, which is exactly how many points their offense scored.
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There's no such thing as parity in the sacrosanct NFL. The drafting system needs revising, or else those of us stuck with poor teams will lose interest. I have, as have my friends and relatives. I only watch a few minutes of the Jets and go do yard work.
Here's what I propose- If a team doesn't make the playoffs after 4 or 5 years, they get an extra first round draft pick at the end of the first round. They also get to carry an additional player to help them out. In the event that a team doesn't make the playoffs for, say, 8 years, they get 2 picks.
The way it's set up now, none of the poor teams have a chance picking 1 player. Therefore, the Jets, Dolphins, 'Skins, Lions, Raiders, etc., will still be at the bottom of the heap. Check back in 5 years- they'll still be there. Why the owners of these poor teams put up with this is beyond me. They're never going to get better-- The Bills didn't make the playoffs for 17 years!--so they're dealing with a structurally impossible situation. I don't know. Maybe they don't care.
George Githens
Warren, Ct.
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@follow the money The Bills suffered through a series of extremely poor management, draft and staffing decisions over those 17 seasons. We extended fat contracts to the wrong players, suffered horrible cap space crises of our own making, and installed a revolving door on the head coach's office. It was all on us. A few solid draft picks here, fewer misguided contract extensions there, and we would have fielded better teams. In the third year of smart ownership, excellent talent appraisal, a more disciplined and principled environment and excellent coaching, we are seeing excellent progress and fielding an exciting team on the brink. Off the field, it is more of a science than a game. Smart, focused front offices do well in this league.
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I could get on board with increasing the team’s annual spending cap so that they can pay more for premier players but rewarding poor performance with extra draft picks is a no go in my book. Besides the draft already benefits historically awful teams. Look at the Browns. They are stacked with early first round picks.
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@follow the money
Do you remember when Matt Millen was the general manager? Brian Billick said on TV he should have gone to jail for what he did to the Lions. On the other hand, Matt Patricia may be replaced by a Chinese coach, Win Won Soon!
Despite a roster of many individually talented players, the Browns simply can't put together a winning team mentality. I live in Cleveland but was not born here. I can sympathize with my neighbors who are their fans. My kids were raised on Indians baseball and their quest for a World Series is suffering enough.
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@USNA73 On the bright side of being a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan is that we recover from disappointment very quickly.