THE NFL'S WILD WEEKEND: SHANKED FIELD GOALS, THE KIDNAPPING OF CARSON WENTZ'S JOB AND THE ARROGANCE OF PETE CARROLL
SEAHAWKS V COWBOYS:
INSIDE THE NFL'S AUSCHWITZ
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| Pete says: "Please, don't you dare think of throwing it...I'm in the business of arrogance, not winning." |
There were calls to 911 about a pregnancy and a stolen newborn, a knifing of a lonely Jets fan in the parking lot, a thrown shoe at a security guard, a kicked and flogged Redskins fan there for cat calls and heckling after the inevitable Cowboys collapse that the Seattle offense seemed unable to allow to happen despite every opportunity to capitalize on the ponderous, primitive play of Dallas.
Cowboys Coach Jason Garrett was rumored to have injected himself with a cocktail of amphetamines, liquid Preparation H and Vitamin B to "get the fuck up" for this one. On the other side line, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had consumed the team's entire stash of Vicodin in a Bill Belichick type effort to sabotage his team.
Coach Carroll was clearly out to prove he's the NFL version of a Neil Young setlist: the dood just will not do what we want, or expect him to do...or even what he should. When it's on the 2 yard line and you've got Beastmode in his prime and a weakened Patriots run defense, "throw it" says Carroll and there goes another Super Bowl. When he should be putting the ball in Wilson's hands to destroy an overrated Cowboys secondary (something he was able to do when quality plays were actually called), "let's run it" he stammers.
Believe me: Carroll wants everyone to know he's in control.....of losing a playoff game and a Super Bowl by being the most arrogant coach in the NFL.
And Carroll didn't disappoint the Cowboys fans. "Die you liberal scum!" Yelled a Cowboys fan after the final play, high fiving his friends in their Walker Texas Ranger outfits, "Go back home where you can kneel!"
The whole political vibe was in the air...Trump banners were being waved like Berlin 1933; anyone who looked vaguely Latino or had olive skin was being harassed and humiliated by the abrasive, drunken and lawless mobs of Cowboys fans. To heighten the political intensity before the game, Cowboys owner and prominent face-eater Jerry Jones and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, both made a pact to detain any player kneeling on sight.
It was wild....there were beer bottles consumed and then smashed against the faces of friends in the parking lot before the game, with a group of tweaking fans drooling about "T.O thought he could spike the star!!" as the Texas madness whirled around in suffocating sorrow to all that is right...to all that makes sense in this messed up world.
We had to get out of there as the Cowboys victory was at hand, The tumult of shaking, angry and drugged out Trump supporting Texans rushing for the exits to get the first chew of human meat.
We were consumed.
CHICAGO V PHILLY:
THE NFL RULE THEMSELVES OUT OF ALL THAT MAKES SENSE
Then, in the most dramatic fashion, you've got a Chicago Bears field goal kicker that shall go unnamed (lest anyone tries to make another death threat against him) who shanked a 43 yard field goal as time (basically) expired. But this wasn't some kind of wide right situation .... this was something we cannot completely bury him for: The ball went off the post and then the crossbar...in the same sequence.
Sure, one could argue he hits the ball wrong and it was heading wide from the get-go, yet this was still one of the most entirely gut wrenching endings to an NFL playoff game we've seen.
The Bears were worthy winners of that game, leaving plenty of touchdowns on the field as the Eagles forced them into uncharacteristic play calling in the red zone and they opted for, settled for field goal after field goal, with the kicker Cody Parkey missing two.
Bears rookie Mitchell Trubiski didn't look overly rattled and played well. He hung in there when he was only getting field goals and punched in a potential game winning touchdown. He threw for over 300 yards and receiver Allen Robinson had 10 massive catches and 143 yards and a touchdown, the only Bears touchdown of the game.
The refereeing decision right before halftime, negating a long Bears catch into the five yard line of Philadelphia, only to see the ball stripped, with nobody recovering it....until the referee did. It was surely something we've all never seen in the national football league.
Then, to make matters worse, Gene Steratore fumbles the call himself, mumbling something drunkenly under his breath and pointing while shouting "ball goes......back!" Then left everyone to wonder what the fuck was going on? Has the NFL ruled themselves out of great games? They've definitely made so many rules they've taken 25% control of the outcome away from the players.
And here I was thinking the Bears v Eagles was going to be boring....
So, a refereeing decision was made to take the football back 30 yards from where the last known possession was at, completely negating a large Bears offensive gain and potentially canceling out 3-4 points as the Bears settled for a halftime ending 6-3 lead instead of a 1st and goal at the five yard line.
I'd say, in a 1 point game, that made the difference.
The Eagles showed what made them Super Bowl champions last year and why people like me (who wrote them off) look foolish again. Pundits and fans alike rip on the ghoulish, bludgeoning NFC East throughout the season, but often times the most battle tested and hardened teams (while surviving the most injuries) get through in the playoffs over teams who've had easier, more placated schedules.
Look at the Colts all of those seasons with a first round bye with Peyton Manning...
There's something about surviving the NFC East that creates an "us against the world" mentality within a team and both the Eagles ( and to a lesser extent, the Cowboys) have capitalized on that energy and brought in a sterling performance that lived up to the Super Bowl winning run of yesteryear.
Eagles Coach Doug Pederson is a titanic leader in the most intense and critical situations. I love how he dares his team to be great. Pederson looked like he was enthralled with the prospect of a winner-take-all / 4th and goal / down 5 points/ must-score occasion...he was not only relaxed, he was enthused.
And Foles, after the timeout, looked ready to win the game. And thanks to Parkey and the cursed Chicago winds, he did with an insanely clutch throw that may have been a massive contract winning pass.
For all of the talk about Carson Wentz, we've got to point something out that is very clear: this is two seasons now, where the Eagles have gone into the playoffs with their starter, their franchise quarterback out for the entire rest of the season...watching and cheering in street clothes on the sidelines. And Nick Foles, the perennial backup (who's still considered a backup even when he's starting) is here and he's ready and he's delivering. You've got to wonder with all of the Eagles frustratingly bad play for the first 60% of the season while Wentz was starting and healthy, then he goes down and the Eagles regroup under Foles and go on a 3 game winning streak, sneak into the playoffs and now go into Chicago and beat the 12-4 Bears,while facing Kalil Mack playing one of his best games as a professional football player.
You've got to think:when the game is on the line, with the Super Bowl there for the taking, you've got to think Nick Foles is the one Coach Doug Pederson wants under center.
And, if Foles somehow goes into New Orleans and beats the Saints.....we may have to finally talk about this guy getting re-signed to a long term deal. Will he? Does that make sense? Probably not with Carson Wentz waiting to be the franchise guy, but he hasn't been the franchise guy. He can't even survive a full season, yet and until that's proven and this kid can deliver, or actually appear in a playoff game, you cannot let Nick Foles walk.
Luckily for Eagles owner Jeff Lurie, this dood just cares about winning.
RAVENS V CHARGERS:
THE DRIED BLOOD CLOGS THE SINK
Out in Baltimore, The Chargers defense went to town on Lamar Jackson.
Jackson had 54 on the ground, with Dixon and Edwards combining for another 36 yards, completing a listless outing that dragged every single Ravens fan into a proverbial bathroom and beat them senseless with the bottom of a Kodiak work-boot.
This was the first time in nearly 10 showings that the Baltimore Ravens had rushed for fewer than 100 yards in a game. To add to this, they were completely inept through the air until the final 4 minutes, with a crazy 14 point push that nearly brought Baltimore back into the game (he had 23 passing yards and 1 interception before that and fumbled the ball like it was covered in the facial hair of Norman Greenbaum).
The Chargers were dominant, with 7 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, forcing 3 fumbles and recovering 2 of them and grabbing a crucial interception. Yet, Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and head coach Anthony Lynn must be worried by the way they allowed Baltimore to come within a freak touchdown away from stealing the game from them. Instead, luckily the defense for the Chargers stood up and were counted, with a new brilliant defensive wrinkle inserted into the game plan:
In an effort to shut down the run attack of Baltimore, which they more than did, the Chargers defensive coordinator Gus Bradley (who stole the idea from watching old footage of the 70s Pittsburgh Steelers) inserted his safeties and corners near the line of scrimmage, stuffing the box with nearly 8 men on occasion. This was a smart idea, as it gave Lamar Jackson more faces to look at, more blitzes or fake blitzes, lots of movement in front of you and to the periphery of his vision and the Chargers defense constantly mixing up blitz packages and pathways of attack.
All this did was confuse the hell out of Jackson, who showed it was rattling him in the way he fumbled the ball (almost routinely) on their first drive of the game, recovering the first time, but losing it the second.
And when he wasn't fumbling it or we weren't watching the Chargers front seven/nine absolutely blast any running game Baltimore had, we saw Chargers safety Derwin James smashing him on passing downs, we saw Bosa adjusting from defensive end to coming in tight in the nose tackle position, wreaking havoc and plugging the running lanes for Baltimore.
They called Jackson's bluff and dared him to pass over the nonstop blitz and he couldn't. Time and time again they were going 3 and out like it was their game plan.
If the Chargers want to win the Super Bowl, they need to keep the foot on the gas and make the opposition pay with touchdowns over field goals after stunning play from their defense. They cannot leave that world class defense out there to hang against Tom Brady for more than 16 minutes on Sunday.
And Philip Rivers has a date with destiny....
Look for my piece this week on Philip Rivers' epic journey from the 2007 AFC Championship game against the Patriots where he played on a torn ACL and his eye on revenge this coming Sunday.
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