FMQB: Bye Bye Bye

Posted by fmquarterback on October 18, 2019
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FMQB: Bye Bye Bye

 

Quick Hits:

 

  • I think the Chiefs blueprint officially figured out, it’s time of possession. Whether you can sustain that the entire game (or score enough to beat them), the Pats did it last year, the Colts last week, and the Texans this week. The Colts ran the ball 45 times last week, and the Texans ran it 41.
  • I think Lions fans have a legit beef with the refereeing from Monday Night. If 1 of the 3 calls goes differently, the Lions win that game
  • You also don’t see the NFL come out and admit to bad calls (like the NBA does). They did on the 2nd hands to the face by the Lions.
  • Mason Crosby’s Lambeau Leap made me smile
  • I know it’s all about being in the right place at the right time, but I think after this year Josh Rosen is done ever competing for a starting job.
  • You could almost hear the NFL hold it’s collective breath when Patrick Mahomes went down.
  • How do the Chargers lose at home to the a 3rd string QB
  • Once again, the extra point rule makes the play exciting. Matt Bryant has to feel sick though.

 

Stat of the Week:

Teddy Bridgewater is 4-0 as a starter this year. Undrafted rookie Kyle Allen is 4-0.  Jimmy Garrapolo, despite the 5 straight INT’s in practice and the brutal preseason, is still 13-2 as a starting QB in this league!

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Both the Rams and Chargers have equaled their loss total from last year, it’s Week 6…

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Josh Rosen and Ryan Fitzpatrick are last and 2nd to last in QB Rating. Even Luke Falk beat them out, same with Baker Mayfield with his 11 INT’s.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

The NFL went 3 months without a player getting arrested, which was actually the longest streak in 20 years.

 

Stat of the Week #5:

The Jets went 3 weeks without throwing a passing TD, to Darnold tossing 2 in his return from mono. Safe to say he might be the answer. And how the hell do the Cowboys go from Super Bowl favorites to losing to the 0-4 Jets?

 

Stat of the Week #6:

NFC South QB’s:

The parity in the NFC South has always been interesting. For 5 straight years in the early 2000s, the team that was in last place in the division went on to win the division the next year. Interesting to note that QB’s from the division that have made the Super Bowl (Brees, Ryan and Newton) are 2-8 this season. Meanwhile backup quarterbacks are 8-0! Let’s just not talk about Jameis Winston…

 

Broken Record:

The NFL somehow went from dealing with this “when is a catch, a catch” debacle, and actually fixing it but at the same time burying themselves into a new “when is pass interference pass interference.”

 

I’d just like to point out that I called this during the preseason. Read this article about how maddening the Pass Interference rule has become.

https://sports.yahoo.com/the-catch-rule-defined-terrible-period-in-nfl-officiating-the-pass-interference-era-might-be-worse-192356916.html

 

Tank Bowl

The Dolphins are a dumpster fire this year, but you can’t accuse them of tanking anymore. The top pick was either going to be the Redskins or Dolphins, and they met on Sunday. The Dolphins had a chance to tie, but went for the win with a 2 point conversion. That is, unless you’re a conspiracy theorist and think they went for 2 to purposely fail.

 

Quote of the Week:

“Any other questions besides about Kirk Cousins?” Zach Brown of the Eagles, who called out Cousins earlier in the week. No dude!!! You had the guts to call someone out, you failed, now you can’t just pass the buck. Brown was cut a day later.

 

Celebration:

How this celebration hasn’t happened yet is beyond me, but well done Seattle! Bye Bye Bye

2pt Tracker:

 

Texans: +1

Redskins: +1

Jaguars: -1

Dolphins: -1 (Does that make their record minus 1 and 5?!?!)

 

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: Houston, we need a new sponsor

Posted by fmquarterback on October 11, 2019
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FMQB: Houston, we need a new sponsor

Player Safety:

Steelers QB Mason Rudolph got nailed with a vicious hit, and I’m not sure I’ve seen a player knocked out before he hit the ground like that before. I’m not buying the NFL’s response about this, and while I don’t blame them, the cart malfunction was inexcusable. The NFL is trying to play it off saying there was a 2nd cart available on the other sidelines (BS, they should have used it), and also saying that Rudolph asked to walk off on his own power (double BS, every player who gets hit asks to stay in the game). Rudolph looked loopy walking off and had a goofy smile on his face, he was obviously messed up. People won’t remember this 5 years from now, but this damages the NFL’s stance on player safety.

 

Quick Hits:

  • Watch the Raiders. Of course they have 3 very tough games coming up, but their schedule could have them ending the season 7-1 to get to 10-6. Don’t sleep on them, they’ve beaten very good Bears and Colts teams.
  • I’m not surprised Jay Gruden got fired, but am surprised at how early it happened.
  • The talk about Jason Garrett and Adam Gase being fired is ridiculously too soon.
  • If the Playoffs were to start today, 5 NFC teams with winning records would be “out.” This is going to shape up to be a great playoff run!
  • It’s hard to tell if Baker Mayfield is in a slump, or if he is going to be a bust. But it’s amazing the fall from grace that has happened the past couple weeks.
  • Gronk is returning this year, news he never filed his retirement papers is a sign
  • Shocked that a 3rd string QB took the Steelers to OT with the Ravens
  • Richard Sherman is one of the most well spoken, respected, and educated guys in the NFL. Why he called out Baker Mayfield is beyond me. He looks bad when video evidence caught him in a lie. The video itself made it look like Sherman didn’t make eye contact while Baker was trying to shake his hand.

 

Chiefs upset:

It was a bit of a tough game to watch, but genius gameplan by Frank Reich to upset the Chiefs. He ran the ball 45 times and dominated the time of possession, basically keeping the Chiefs offense on the sidelines. It still took a Mahomes injury to seal the deal, but that might be the blueprint.

 

Situation of the Week:

Media after Eagles game: “Why wouldn’t you run the ball with Aaron Jones”

Matt LaFluer: *gives ball to Aaron Jones for 4 TD’s

 

Stat of the Week:

The Patriots have given up a paltry 6.8 points per game, less than half the points than the 2nd place Bears in that category.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Baker Mayfield would have had a higher QB rating if he would have spiked the ball into the ground every single play

 

Quote of the Week:

“You know, if my key is still working Monday we get back to work”- Jay Gruden. Spoiler alert, his key wasn’t working…

 

Quote of the Week #2:

“I didn’t know this kind of football existed anymore in today’s NFL” Chris Collinsworth after the Colts ran for 45 times

 

Houston, we need a new sponsor:

Not sure anybody caught halftime between the Packers and Cowboys, but I laughed when Terry Bradshaw was desperately trying to get his Microsoft Surface to rotate the screen correctly and seemingly made a big deal out of it not working. Just funny because of how big of a sponsor Microsoft is, makes you wonder if he got talked to.

 

 

Injury Report:

Clay Matthews broke his jaw last Thursday night. I almost broke my jaw when it dropped seeing the flag they threw on his “roughing the passer” penalty.

 

Fantasy update and quote of the week:

FFMQB: “Dang, whoever had Aaron Jones in Fantasy must have won huge!”

FMQB: “Yeah no kidding”

*checks score on Tuesday, wonders how I scored 196 points

FMQB: “Oh wow, I forgot I have Aaron Jones!

 

For some reason I haven’t been into Fantasy Football as much the past couple years despite my love for the game. So obviously I started a player on Bye this week which was a bummer.

 

2pt Tracker:

 

Jaguars: -1

Texans: +1

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

FMQB: Gardner Minshew, the Enigma

Posted by fmquarterback on October 4, 2019
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FMQB: Minshew, the Enigma

Quick Hits:

  • The Rams and Cowboys were sure brought down to earth in a heartbeat.
  • In Lions vs. Chiefs, there were 5 straight possessions that ended with a fumble. 2 of those were back to back possessions by the Lions where they fumbled within the 3 yard line.
  • I know they seemed to have made nice, but I have a feeling that Adam Theilen and Kirk Cousins don’t get along…From the sounds of it, Diggs is unhappy too
  • Tampa Bay and Cleveland are essentially a play away from being 3-1, Detroit basically 2 plays away from being undefeated.
  • The Browns tried a play in which the 4th player to touch the ball threw a pass, 5 technically if you count the Center.
  • Only 3 home teams won this week
  • The Bills hung with the Patriots
  • The Lions hung with the Chiefs, and if it wasn’t for fumbles they would have won by a minimum of 2 and possibly 10 points.

 

 

Stat of the Week:

Frank Gore became only the 4th player to rush for 15,000 yards

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Kyle Allen is 3rd in the league in Passer Rating, has thrown for the same or more TD’s than Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, and Josh Allen despite starting half the games. Kyle Allen was also undrafted

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Even after an “off” week, Patrick Mahomes is still on pace for 6000 yards and 40 TD’s.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Larry Fitzgerald is only 223 receptions behind Jerry Rice. At 36, it’s doable to catch him if he has 3 solid seasons in him yet. Yards are a bigger issue though, and he’s back 6,316. Makes you appreciate Rice even more. Jason Witten is the next closest active player in yards, and he’s over 10,000 away!

 

Stat of the Week #5

The Bills gave Tom Brady a fit on defense, making him go 18 of 39 for 150 yards in Buffalo. A rating of 32.2

 

Stat of the Week #6:

Buccaneers scored the most points in franchise history, most points ever against a team that was 3-0 or better, and tied the most points scored against a team that was in the Super Bowl the year before. Sure you can blame Goff, he had 3 INT’s and a Fumble with the chance to win. But he threw for a career high 517 yards and the defense gave up 55 points. Goff also tied the NFL record for most completions in a game with 45.

 

Stat of the Week #7:

Leonard Fournette had 225 yards rushing. You don’t see a lot of 200+ yard games anymore

 

Stat of the Week #8:

There are 4 first year head coaches in the league, and they are a combined 0-15-1

 

For the Record:

  • If you lose a game to a team who’s backup QB comes into the game on the 1st drive and outplays your $84M QB. AND if you have a receiver who is excited about the potential of joining the Bills, you might be in trouble
  • Thursday Night Football has produced two excellent games in back to back weeks. In fact, the lineup for Thursdays is looking more promising than Monday Night’s Bears vs. Redskins or Bengals vs. Steelers.
  • Burfict was suspended the entire season for his hit on Sunday (well deserved in my book). Burfict has been fined $469K and given up $3.7M in game checks in 6 years.
  • I think we’re crowing Gardner Minshew too early, but he had a play where he dropped the ball, got hit (and dang near broke his ankle) but still completed a pass for a first down. He also had a play where he made 3 lineman whiff on tackling him and scored.
  • That being said, the fact that Gardner Minshew is turning into this enigma of a being is absolutely hilarious to me. If he has any sort of success in the NFL, this is what the new Chuck Norris-like comparisons are going to be. There are literally legends about his life coming out already!
  • The Browns are leading the AFC North for the first time since October of 2014. If you would have asked me the last time they led the division, it would have been a hell of a lot longer ago than 2014!
  • QB Depth is the key to this season. These players are keeping their teams relevant when in the past you used to say “Maybe next year.” Bridgewater has won 2 games, Kyle Allen 2, Gardner Minshew 2, Jacoby Brissett 1, Chase Daniel and Mason Rudolph has kept their teams a game out of 1st place in their division. This year has been brutal among QB injuries, earlier in the year than a few other years.

 

 

Quarter pole:

Hard to believe the season is already 25% over. Some teams have distanced themselves from the rest of the field, while other divisions are wide open for the taking.

 

AFC: Patriots have a 2 game lead, Chiefs have a 3 game lead, AFC South is tied across the board, and the Browns are winning the division after starting 1-2.

 

NFC: The 49ers lead the division while the Rams are in 3rd. NFC North is the most competitive division in football. Wild card race will be most competitive in the NFC, with no mediocre teams creeping in at 9-7 or anything.

 

Updated Playoff Predictions:

  1. Patriots
  2. Chiefs
  3. Texans
  4. Ravens
  5. Browns
  6. Bills

 

  1. Cowboys
  2. Rams
  3. Saints
  4. Bears
  5. Packers
  6. 49ers/Seahawks/Lions

 

If the Playoffs Were to Start Today:

Browns, Bills and Raiders are the last 3 in the AFC. The Rams are out and the 49ers have the #1 seed in the NFC. Denver would have the #1 pick in the draft.

 

College Note:

I don’t follow or talk much about College football, but it will be incredibly interesting to see what happens with this Fair Pay to Play act that California is signing into law. It essentially makes it illegal for the NCAA to tell athletes that they can’t collect endorsement money, or potentially other money. Does this trickle to other states, does it completely upend NCAA rules, or does every top ranked athlete now choose a California school so they can make money as they work.

 

2pt Tracker:

 

Jaguars: -1

Texans: +1

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: Tip your Bartenders!

Posted by fmquarterback on September 27, 2019
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FMQB: Tip your Bartenders!

 

Woohoo, Antonio Brown got released!!! Knock on wood if you’re with me!

 

Quick Hits:

  • Even after bad penalties, bad play calls, and bad turnovers, the Browns should have won (or at least tied to go into OT) the game against the Rams. Additionally, their entire starting secondary was inactive in the game. We’d be having a MUCH different conversation about the Browns if even 1 of those things goes differently.
  • Even after blowing a terrible lead, the Buccaneers lost the game, Daniel Jones didn’t win it
  • I’m not sure what Vikings team or what Falcons team is going to show up each week
  • Wow, the Saints beat the Seahawks on the road and with their backup QB? If the Saints can go .500 until Brees gets back, they’ll be in good shape. At this rate though they may be going 5-2!
  • Whoever thinks Running Backs are useless should watch Dalvin Cook and Mark Ingraham’s Sunday performance
  • Jacoby Brissett is making the Colts competitive, 75% comp, 310 yds, 2TD’s and a 118.1 rating to take the Colts to 2-1
  • Lamar Jackson could be this/next year’s Patrick Mahomes. He looked incredibly sharp out there and was electric on the run
  • You would have thought with how dirty the Eagles defense was playing that Gregg Williams was their coach
  • Last night reinforced how much I dislike the challenge of the pass interference rule. A couple calls were right and not overturned which would have made this even more ticky tacky. But a couple calls were blatantly missed and not reviewed.

 

 

Adventures in Coaching:

Last week it was the officials, but this week the coaching had me shaking my head several times on BASIC football IQ. Here’s what was weird:

  • The Browns ran the ball on a 4th and 9 while losing in the 4th quarter
  • Bruce Arians took a delay of game, ON PURPOSE, to back the kicker up 5 yards on a game winning field goal try. They missed…
  • The Ravens, when down by 11, decided to go for 2. Meaning they’d be down by 9 if they converted (still a 2 possession game) or 11 if they didn’t (meaning they’d HAVE to convert a 2 pointer to even tie).
  • The Patriots were up 30-7, and ran a play that called for Brady to throw a block
  • Good/bad call: The Ravens Onside kick was one of the more bizarre attempts. They tried a drop kick and kicked it incredibly far (30 yards) and high for an onside kick. The call was weird, but only made sense because they were kicking to a rookie who may not be aware he could call for a fair catch. Good football IQ for him to do so.

 

 

Stat of the Week:

Every team in the NFC North has a winning record, and against the rest of the NFL are 7-0-1

 

Stat of the Week #2:

6 new QB’s started this week (Saints, Panthers, Dolphins, Jets, Steelers and Giants), and those QB’s were 3-3

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Patrick Mahomes hit the NFL history list with the 4th most pass yards through 3 games to start a season. Also compared to last year through his first 3 games, Mahomes has a higher Completion %, nearly 100 more yards per game, a higher passer rating, fewer interceptions and fewer sacks than the start of his MVP season last year. He is also on pace to become the first 6000 yard passer.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Eli Manning, if this is the end, will finish his career 116-116

 

Stat of the Week #5:

Sean McVay in 34 games has scored 30 points in 22 of those games (or 65%). In the previous 10 years, the Rams only had 17 games with 30+ points (or 11%)

 

Stat of the Week #6:

Daniel Jones is 1-0 when trailing by 18+ points. Eli Manning is 0-44 in those games

 

Stat of the Week #7:

As of 3 weeks ago, Antonio Brown was slated to earn $30M this season. Currently he’s likely going to end 2019 with $158,000.

 

Stat of the Week #8:

The 49ers had 5 turnovers and still won

 

Stat of the Week #9:

Statistically, if Lamar Jackson starts Week 4 by throwing 8 straight interceptions, he would still have a higher passer rating than Baker Mayfield

 

Stat of the Week #10:

It has been 22 years since a team has called a run on a play of 4th and 9 or longer

 

Stat of the Week #11:

The Chiefs have scored 57 points in the 2nd quarter alone! That actually beats out 8 teams’ total point production.

 

Stat of the Week #12:

In 2016, the Patriots had Tom Brady, Jacoby Brissett and Jimmy Garrapolo on their roster. This year, those 3 QB’s are a combined 8-1.

 

Dad Joke of the Week:

Technically speaking, every Browns assistant coach is a part of the Kitchen Staff (since the head coach is Kitchens…). Tip your Bartenders people!

 

Games of the Week:

Bills vs. Patriots, one team won’t be undefeated after Sunday. We’ll likely see how legit the Bills are, whether they hang in there with the Pats or get blown out.

Browns at Ravens: essentially the battle for the AFC North could be won or muddied on Sunday

Vikings at Bears: Could have Wild Card ramifications, but trying to keep up with the Packers.

 

2002 Called…

So just to be clear, Tom Brady is the Super Bowl Champion, the Bengals are awful, Jon Gruden is on the sidelines as a coach, a Carr brother is leading his team into obscurity, and Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are doing the halftime show. And you’re telling me this is 2019 and not 2002?!?!

 

The Saga continues:

If you woke up this weekend hoping to not have to hear about Antonio Brown, you were/are about to be disappointed. Here’s a list of the continued saga of AB over just the past 7 days:

Released, twitter rant, retiring, going back to college, teams interested, in court for trashing an apartment, hints at unretirement.

 

2pt Tracker:

No final minute 2pt decisions this week, although I’m very tempted to put the Ravens in there since they failed on 3 different 2pt attempts. So that’s 6 (or 3) points off the board when they lost by 5. But standings stay the same.

 

Jaguars: -1

Texans: +1

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: 3rd in Completion %, 1st in Mustaches

Posted by fmquarterback on September 20, 2019
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FMQB: 3rd in Completion %, 1st in Mustaches

1/8 Suprises:

This WAY too early list, I want to point out a couple teams that have been surprising:

  • The Chargers, who challenged the Chiefs for the AFC West last year, may have a rough year ahead of them. They barely beat the Colts and a backup QB, and they just lost to the Lions.
  • Dare I say the Colts could be competitive this year under Jacoby Brissett?
  • The 49ers are 2-0, 3rd in the league in points, including outscoring the Chiefs and Rams, and both were road wins
  • The Bills are 2-0 but have beaten 2 terrible teams, don’t get too excited yet
  • The Buccaneers are technically in 1st place in their division, the Bears in last
  • The Ravens have scored the most points in the league, the Packers have given up the 2nd fewest points on defense

 

Game of the Week:

I have to say, I was deeply disappointed with my geographical restrictions this week. Fox hyped up it’s “Game of the Week” with the Saints vs. Rams. It was a rematch of the NFC Championship, which almost should be a must-see game nationwide. Instead, I got stuck with Broncos vs. Bears, yuck! And for the first 55 minutes, it was yuck; a non-exciting low scoring game. But watching the final sequence has it down to game of the year nominee! We’ll start at the 2:25 mark. Broncos are down 13-6 and have 43 yards to go until pay-dirt. They convert a 4th and 10. Drive further into the red zone and convert a second 4th down conversion to set up 1st down from the 7 yard line and 31 seconds. Plenty of time! Next play the Broncos score to pull up down by one. They decide to go for 2, but get a delay of game. They kick an extra point, and MISS it! Bears win! But hold on, they were offsides. The Broncos then line up for go for two, and succeed!!! Broncos are going to win!

 

But hold on, the Bears have 31 seconds left. A short play and a very questionable roughing the passer puts them at their own 45. After 3 straight incompletions, the bears actually go for it on  4th down, on their own 45. Trubisky held the ball FOREVER but finally zipped it for a 25 yard game. But the Bears kicking is terrible, they’re about to lose anyw…holy cow, 53 yard field goal for the win!

 

Stat of the Week #1:

The Giants are 0-2 for the 6th time in the last 7 seasons

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Dolphins have been outscored 102-10 in the first 2 games

 

Stat of the Week #3:

The Redskins are 10th in the league in scoring, but are 0-2. The Packers are 26th but are 2-0.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Cam Newton has yet to throw a TD pass this season and has -2 rushing yards…

 

Stat of the Week #5:

Dak Prescott is completing 82.3% of his passes this season!

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Patriots have given up 3 points on defense, and have scored the 2nd most points in the league with 76

 

Stat of the Week #7:

Way too early stat: Dalvin Cook is on pace for 2112 rushing yards this season

 

Stat of the Week #8:

Julio Jones has already matched is TD output for all of 2017. He had a 343 day TD drought from 2017-2018. Ironically he now has the longest TD streak of any WR with 6 games.

 

Stat of the Week #9:

Guess what QB is 3rd in Completion percentage, 7th in QB Rating, and 1st in mustaches? That’s right, Gardner Minshew!

 

For the Record:

  • The Packers have sealed 2 straight wins with interceptions in the endzone
  • Why would the Steelers trade a 1st round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick AFTER knowing Ben Roethlisberger was out for the season? There’s a chance Miami picks 1st and 2nd next year.
  • Steelers are now the No-B’s
  • Wow, Eli Manning’s season didn’t last long. 2 weeks, then benched for the rookie!
  • The Vikings drafted then released K Dan Carlson last year. Since being picked up by the Raiders, he has made 17 straight field goals
  • It’s Week 2 and we already have 5 QB’s hurt for extended time (Brees, Roethlisberger, Darnold, Foles,  possibly Cam), 2 benched for backups (Giants, Dolphins), and 1 surprise retirement (Luck/Colts). Literally a quarter of the league’s QB’s will not be starting Week 3 that we anticipated would start by the end of the 3rd preseason week.
  • I’ve never seen a game with the amount of injuries the Eagles had with nearly the entire WR corps going down and Wentz hurting his ribs.

 

Adventures in Officiating:

What seems to be a yearly occurrence, especially around Week 2 (remember Clay Matthews last year) is the terrible officiating that seems to haunt the NFL. We once again saw several terrible calls that not even review could overturn. This can’t keep costing teams games!

  1. Roughing the passer on the Broncos on the Bears final drive. They literally hit Trubisky when he still had the ball, and it was a normal tackle, and they got a 15 yd penalty
  2. The Jets roughing the passer on Monday night was also ridiculous, and he even got fined $21K a day later
  3. Even as a Rams fan, the Goff fumble turned incomplete pass was a bad call.
  4. The Viking offensive pass interference was a terrible call that took a TD off the board. There have been other PI’s overturned, I’m telling you this is STILL going to be a disaster
  5. On TNF, there were 15 flags in 1st half last night

 

AB Again?!?!:

My God, with the news coming out you’d think this guy was running for president and the election is a week away!!! SINCE last week’s article, we’ve had 4 more off field issues happen surrounding Antonio Brown. It’s about time for this guy to go away. We had another sexual assault claim (moreso an exposure issue) and that person isn’t even asking for money. We had a 3rd assault claim. We had a doctor post a video of him doing a body fat test and AB farting as he was kneeling next to him and giggling like a little girl (ok this one is kind of funny). Then we had the 4th issue where he was sending threatening texts to a person, and actually reached out to the NFL to get him to stop (once again isn’t looking for money).

 

Quote of the Week

“Stay off Tom” Ref to Dolphins player after a sack which was a legal hit

 

Quote of the Week #2:

“My bad Doc” Antonio Brown, after farting near the doctor

 

Season Project: 2PT Tracker:

The extended extra point is starting to show some dividends regarding making that play “exciting” again. 2 teams have now gone for 2 late in the 4th quarter instead of kicking to tie the game. I plan on tracking a plus/minus on those teams and seeing by the end of the year if it makes a difference on teams making or missing the playoffs. I can’t count the Broncos in this one, because despite successfully getting the 2, they lost on the final crazy drive. So that leaves us at:

 

Jaguars: -1

Texans: +1

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

FMQB: The Drama Continues

Posted by fmquarterback on September 13, 2019
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Shorter post this week, mainly because I didn’t see a down of football. But some quick hits and interesting tidbits from Week 1.

 

Quick Hits:

  • The fall from grace of the Browns hype-balloon is probably the fastest I’ve ever seen. They got killed, at home, by a team that didn’t make the playoffs last year.
  • Speaking of a stomping, the Ravens manhandling of the Dolphins was also insane. It was 42-3 with time left in the FIRST half!
  • At one point in the 2nd quarter, the Redskins were beating the Eagles 17-0.
  • We have our 1st tie of the season, already.
  • I’m not surprised that the Patriots beat the Steelers, but am surprised at the lack of offense the Steelers have with 2 of the 3 B’s gone
  • Kyler Murray looked incredibly soft to start the game, but curious if the momentum he had in the 4th quarter is a picture of what could become.
  • Sam Darnold is out with Mono, I’ve literally never seen that on an injury report before!
  • I also don’t think I’ve seen a situation where “multiple players have contacted their agents to request a trade from the Dolphins.” Not the 2016 Browns, or the Lions.
  • Sad to see Nick Foles out for a good chunk of the season. Would have been interesting to see what he could have done there
  • The Saints/Texans ending looked like the most exciting game of the week

 

Stat of the Week:

God’s Gift to Man Cam is on a 8 game losing streak…

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Your top 4 QB’s in terms of yardage are Andy Dalton, Dak Prescot, Mathew Stafford, and Case Keenum

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Marlon Mack averaged 7 yards per carry, on 25 rushing attempts! And the Chargers should have known that the Colts would be run-heavy during their first game since the shocking Andrew Luck retirement.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

According to the official Win Probability numbers, when the Dolphins were down 59-10 with 1:05 remaining in the game, they statistically had a 0.1% chance of still winning the game.

Stat of the Week #5:

Lamar Jackson and Dak Prescott both had perfect passer ratings on Sunday

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Browns had 18 penalties for 183 yards, and three turnovers in the 4th quarter. Same ol Browns team.

 

Scheduling tidbit:

The Packers play 5 of the next 6 games at home, meaning their “Frozen Tundra” advantage may be minimal this year. Also primes them up to a hot start and cold finish ending 6 of their last 9 games on the road.

 

Antonio Brown Timeline:

 

The 6 day timeframe of AB was nuts, especially following it from Europe and waking up to see a new twist in the saga. Here we go:

Wednesday: Brown is fined by the Raiders due to missing 2 practices. Brown decides to post a picture of the letter from the GM on Instagram (brilliant move, and that’s either sarcasm or not depending on what you think Brown’s angle was.

Thursday: Brown gets in an altercation with the Raiders GM. Threatened to hit him, and reportedly had to be held back by teammates. Rumors he will be suspended by the team to avoid paying him his guaranteed $30M. Definitely won’t be playing Monday night.

Friday: Brown has an emotional apology within the locker room. Gruden is asked if Brown will play Monday night and he says “that’s the plan.”

Saturday: Brown decides to demand his release from the Raiders, they oblige and he’s officially a free agent.

Later Saturday: Brown signs with the New England Patriots (I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but tell me you don’t think this is fishy!)

Tuesday: Brown is accused of sexual assault, threat of being put on Commissioner’s Exempt list and not playing this season anyway

 

Thought of the Week:

The NBA is starting to wear off on the NFL. Basketball players run the league and they ran free agency this past offseason. Antonio Brown was able to essentially orchestrate his departure from the Raiders and sign with the Super Bowl contenders.

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: Year 9, Knock on Wood if you’re With Me!!!

Posted by fmquarterback on August 30, 2019
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

FMQB: Year 9, Knock on Wood if you’re With Me

Friday Morning Quarterback is back! Year 9!!!! It seems like forever since I’ve put out a post, and I have to say this is been one of the crazier offseasons for stories. Knock on wood if you’re with me!!!!!

 

It’s the NFL’s 100th season. Antonio Brown is getting weirder by the day, and is apparently being sued by a chef because he found his fish head in the freezer and thought it was a mob threat. Not to mention his helmet issues. The Packers played a preseason game on an 80 yard field and no kickoffs (do we think that was on accident)? The Giants were the laughing stock of the league when they drafted Daniel Jones, only to have him look like a veteran QB WAY ahead of Manning in the preseason. And are we really living in a world where the Cleveland Browns are the most hyped team going into the season? Don’t even get me going on the shockwave through the NFL of Andrew Luck retiring, likely leaving $100+ million and a hall of fame bust on the table.

 

This is my annual Prediction post. And I’ll have an abbreviated Week 1 recap next week. Finish the Dad joke and you’ll find out where I am currently honeymooning: “Did you know the first French fries weren’t made in France? No, they were fried in….”

 

2019 Predictions:

  • Rookie of the Year- NOT Kyler Murray
  • MVP- Patrick Mahomes again
  • Comeback player of the year- Cooper Kupp
  • The Daniel Jones Eli Manning narrative will dominate headlines. Manning will make it through the first 4 weeks going 1-3, and by Week 5 Daniel Jones is under center.
  • LeVeon Bell will underperform, starting all 16 games but not hitting 1000 yards, which will hurt the RB market for everyone else moving forward
  • Speaking of RB market, Zeke has a deal done by Week 3, but is outside the top 5 rushers. Gordon will hold out, into October. Gurley will play, but be affected by his knee, coming in outside the Top 10 but will be top 5 in TD’s.
  • Rosen is the starting QB for the Dolphins by Week 7, but will still struggle
  • Nick Foles won’t have the same success as in Philly, but will be a dramatic increase from Blake Bortles.
  • Odell Beckham will be mostly off the radar in terms of drama, but will light it up on the field. Antonio Brown however will continue adding to his weird saga, and will get extremely frustrated as him and Carr are on different wavelengths.

 

FMQB Ranting already:

I do want to step in and give my opinion of the new pass interference rule, and the fact it’s reviewable. My prediction is this is a one and done rule, and will be a disaster once games are won and lost due to it. (I get it Saints fans, you have a right to complain). But we’re going to have a scenario where a call is overturned in the end zone that is ticky tacky and decides the game. I guarantee this happens, and likely more than once. It’s almost a weekly occurrence that a 4th and Goal ends with a fade in the endzone, and now coaches are going to challenge every play. It’s going to be a situation where you look at the play and accept the call on the field, but under review there’s some minor hold that technically defines PI, and it’s going to change the outcome of the game. Just watch, that’s my prediction.

 

Take on Andrew Luck:

I was absolutely shocked to hear Luck was retiring. In fact, one way I know I’m old, is that I remember doing this blog the year leading up to Luck being drafted and now he’s retiring! Here’s my thing, yes the timing was absolutely terrible and essentially ruins the Colts’ season, but he had every right to do this. He’s a grown man and can make whatever decision is right for him. The fact Colts fans booed him off the field was also despicable. The organization was classy by letting him keep close to $25M, that’s a ton of money! But after seeing Calvin Johnson, Rob Gronkowski, and now Luck retire essentially in their prime, I think this is going to become a thing in the NFL. People are more cognizant of the toll it takes on their bodies, and enjoying life. I just wouldn’t be surprised to see some QB’s play well into their 40s, while other stars leaving at 29 is considered “normal.”

 

AFC North: I have the Browns and Ravens battling it out for the division. Should be fun to see the progression of both 2nd year QB’s. The Steelers will regress, and we’re nearing the end of this “regime.”

AFC East: Patriots have this in the bag as always, although I think the Jets are going to make a run at it and sneak in a wild card spot. Sam Darnold is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming years. Watch for the Dolphins to have a Top 3 pick.

AFC South: Such a weird division! You could almost argue for any team, but no team to be more than 10 or 11 wins. I had the Colts taking it until Saturday, now I think they’ll be in last place. The Texans will be solid, the Jags should improve with Foles, and the Titans would be playoff caliber if Mariotta stays healthy.

AFC West: The Chiefs should take this division handily as well. On the fence with Denver, if Flacco has some magic left they could be a team on the rise. Oakland also looks good on Hard Knocks, but that could be fancy camera work. Chargers should regress with Melvin Gordon and Keenan Allen missing time.

 

 

 

NFC North: Another weird division. I do think the Bears are the best team in the division, but their kicking woes could easily lose them 3 games. Packers should be better if Rodgers is healthy and a hungry coach. I think the Vikings have a 9-7 season and miss the playoffs again, and the Lions will pull a Lions and be obsolete by Week 5.

NFC East: Without Foles to fall back on, Wentz will have to stay healthy, but the Eagles have a chance to make a deep playoff run. The Cowboys will do what they always do under Jason Garrett, and go 8-8 after a playoff year. The Giants will be newsworthy, but not in the playoff hunt. And the Redskins will have QB woes that still aren’t addressed by January.

NFC South: The Saints are still a powerhouse, but their window is rapidly closing. They’ll take the #1 seed one last time though. The Bucs will have to move on from Winston after this year. Panthers will struggle with Newton staying healthy, and the Falcons will be in line for a Wild Card spot.

NFC West: The Rams are easily the best team in the division. The Seahawks will make a push, but they’ve lost too many players to make the playoffs. Jimmy G will lead the league in INT’s, so the 49ers aren’t in the picture. And Arizona will be a fun team to watch but Murray will have ups and downs.

 

Playoff Predictions

 

AFC:

Patriots

Texans

Chiefs

Browns

Ravens

Jets

 

 

NFC:

Eagles

Bears

Rams

Saints

Falcons

Packers

 

AFC Championship:

Chiefs vs. Texans

 

 

NFC Championship:

Saints vs. Eagles

 

Super Bowl:

Chiefs vs. Saints- Chiefs win it all

 

Quote of the Offseason:

“He drinks a gallon of milk every day. … I think it’s the milk that’s not pasteurized, either. I think it’s right out of the teat.”

Jay Gruden on Colt McCoy’s milk habits.

 

Best Quote of the Offseason:

“Knock on wood if you’re with me” Jon Gruden

 

Meme’s of the Offseason:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: 7 Stages of “Good Grief”

Posted by fmquarterback on February 15, 2019
Posted in: Uncategorized. Leave a comment

FMQB: 7 Stages of “Good Grief”

Avid readers might notice that I have not put out my post-Super Bowl, well, post yet. It’s been a long 2 weeks, of reflecting, of sadness, of acceptance, and hope. Good grief was that a terrible game. And I don’t mean as a spectator (I’ll get into that), I mean as a Rams fan. To be the #2 scoring offense in the league, and then show up in the biggest game of your life and not be able to get into the endzone was downright embarrassing. I’m not going to go into an in depth breakdown of stats and drives, because quite frankly there wasn’t much.

 

If you would have told me on Saturday that the Rams were going to hold the Patriots to 13 points, I would have been jumping up and down and celebrating the victory before the game was already played. Additionally, when Brady was picked off on his very first pass attempt, I also thought good things were coming.

 

Super Bowl Thoughts:

  • You know it’s a bad day for your team when the announcers are jumping up and down because your punter set a new Super Bowl record
  • Nobody is admitting anything, but something is up with Todd Gurley. He had 10 carries (although most in the 2nd half), and 4 in the Saints game. That’s 14 carries in 2 games, he had 14 or more in 11 games the entire season!
  • The fact that the Patriots’ final possession ended in a field goal was the reason the Rams DESERVED to lose the game. They took the ball from their own 5 yard line 71 yards on ALL RUNS, when even casual football fans knew they were trying to run out the clock. Stack the box.
  • I hate to say it, but if the Saints would have been in the Super Bowl, I think they would have beaten the Patriots.
  • While I feel “over” this Super Bowl much faster than I did 2001, this doesn’t help my respect for what they’re doing, sort of put me in the sour category again.
  • I haven’t had a chance to watch the AAF yet, but it sounds like it may actually be an intriguing option?!?!

 

Super Stat of the Week:

This was the lowest scoring Super Bowl in 53 games. Ironic that it came during the season that had collectively the most points scored in NFL history

 

Super Stat of the Week #2:

Tom Brady became the first player to win 6 Super Bowls, surpassing Charles Haley

 

Super Stat of the Week #3:

Tom Brady became the oldest QB to win a ring, and Bill Belichick became the oldest head coach to win a ring

 

Super Stat of the Week #4:

The Patriots are now tied with the Steelers with the most titles (6). Tom Brady also has as many titles as Pittsburgh has

 

Super Stat of the Week #5:

The Patriots 13 points were the lowest points scored by a winning team in the Super Bowl

 

Super Stat of the Week #6:

The Rams became only the 2nd team not to score a TD, and they tied the lowest point total with 3

 

Super Stat of the Week #7:

The Rams had their most punts of the season with 9. During the season, Hekker didn’t hit his 9th punt until the 6th game of the season!

 

Super Stat of the Week #8:

No team entered the red zone until there was less than 7 minutes left in the game. That was the only red zone play for either side for the entire game.

 

Super Stat of the Week #9:

27 of the Rams 60 plays went for zero or negative yards

 

Crappy Super Bowl?

While I have to say I agree with the fact it was a crappy Super Bowl, reflecting on it, I’d much rather have this than the 43-8 Seattle vs. Denver blowout. The Rams were in the game until the final 2 minutes. One play flips the script, and theoretically they had a miniscule chance to tie the game with a series of events with 10 seconds left in the game. Sure the punting was terrible, sure the lack of red zone plays made for less than exciting TV, but either team was a score away from winning it deep into the 4th quarter. The Bucs win or Seattle’s win were terrible games unless you were a fan of either of the winners. We’ve been blessed by a myriad of exciting Super Bowls, and have gotten out of the ‘80s slump where 2 of the 10 games were within a possession. So while I’m not taking the Trey Wingo approach and jumping up and down, it still wasn’t the mind-numbing game America is playing it off to be.

 

Patriots Dynasty Stat:

Believe it or not, this was the highest margin of victory for a Patriots team in the Super Bowl

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: Super Bowl Preview

Posted by fmquarterback on February 1, 2019
Posted in: Super Bowl. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

FMQB: Super Bowl Preview

 

It is here (well, almost). Super Bowl Sunday! One final game of the season, one final game to rule them all, one last chance at redemption for this Rams fan to knock out Brady and Belichick.

 

Super Bowl Stat #1:

This is New England’s 11th Super Bowl appearance overall, meaning that even though there are 16 teams in the AFC, the Patriots have won the conference 21% of the time in the Super Bowl era

 

Super Bowl Stat #2:

With a win, Brady will set the record for most Super Bowl wins by any player (currently tied with Charles Haley with 5). A loss however ties him with Jim Kelly for the most Super Bowl losses by a QB.

 

Super Bowl Stat #3:

The 17 year age difference between Brady and Goff is the largest in Super Bowl history

 

Super Bowl Stat #4:

The 33 year age gap between Belichick and McVay is also a Super Bowl record

 

Super Bowl Stat #5:

In the past 14 Super Bowls, 12 have been won by teams wearing white. The Pats are wearing white this year…

 

Super Bowl Stat #6:

In the playoffs, Brady/Belichick are 16-1 against teams they didn’t face in the regular season. They did not face the Rams, but their 1 loss came against the Eagles last year.

 

Super Bowl Stat #7:

Tom Brady has been sacked only 5 times in the last 8 games.

 

Super Bowl Stat #8:

Take a look at the last 8 games between both teams. Bizarre coincidence. Maybe this means OT for the Super Bowl again!

Pats: win, win, loss, loss, win, win, win, win.

Rams: win, win, loss, loss, win, win, win, win.

 

Looking ahead:

If your team had a rough year, keep in mind that 2 of the 8 divisions were won by teams that went from Worst to First (Bears and Texans), and 15 of the last 16 years at least 1 team has made that feat. And 2 of the teams last year, Philly and Jacksonville, both made their conference championship games with the Eagles winning the Super Bowl!

 

Things to watch for:

 

  • The Patriots defense did a marvelous job shutting down the Chiefs early, but they completely fell apart in the 4th quarter. While this emphasizes the strength in New England’s coaches ability to prepare for a team, it also showed their weakness of adjusting on the fly. Similar to the Rams start last week, see if Goff going no huddle in the 2nd or 3rd quarter marks a shift in momentum
  • The Patriots also shut down Tyreek Hill and do not allow much on the jet sweep, which the Rams also like to run. This could lead to some early 3 and outs for the Rams
  • Inexperience vs. Experience: You have a coach for NE with as much NFL coaching experience that McVay has years on this planet. While McVay is flashy, innovative, and a genius; Belichick has seen it all.
  • The Rams have a shaky run defense, but it has shown up in the postseason, only allowing 98 yards over 2 games (and to Zeke and Ingram/Kamara for that matter). The Patriots have owned the clock and have ran like crazy with their 3 back system, so this will be a deciding factor in the game. I will say this, if the Patriots rush for 120+ yards, they win the game by more than 10 points. If they rush for less than 60, they lose.
  • Tom Brady’s arm strength and mobility is starting to catch up with him. Patriots coaches have done a marvelous job in changing the scheme, calling plays where Brady basically can get rid of the ball in less than 2 seconds and let their athletes do the work. The Chiefs actually did a good job stopping this in OT, and leading Brady into three 3rd and 10s. This is exactly where you want to put him as a defense, he just miraculously pulled out all 3. Against the sack-happy Rams D line, watch for very fast plays. Anything over 10 yards will be a risk for a sack.
  • I also think the refs swallow their whistles, only 4 penalties all game

 

Prediction:

I realize this is a total cop-out answer, so don’t hate me. Deep down I feel the Patriots are going to win, as much as I hate to say it. But I am going to pick the Rams because I’ve been doing this for 8 years and NEED to pick my team. I have the game being very similar to the Pats Chiefs game; slow to start but explosive 4th quarter with lead changes. I have it 3-3 at the end of the 1st. 10-6 Patriots at halftime. 17-13 Patriots at the end of 3. And then FINAL SCORE of Rams 34, Patriots 31. If I get all 4 right, I’ll retire from FMQB!

 

Thought to ponder:

If the Super Bowl was in Minneapolis this week, with the -50 degree windchills, it may have actually been cancelled. Also, if this had been the Super Bowl last year, I totally would have been there!

 

Memes of the Week:

 

 

 

 

 

 

FMQB: Overtime Madness!

Posted by fmquarterback on January 25, 2019
Posted in: NFL, Super Bowl. Leave a comment

FMQB: Schadenfreude and Karma

Oh…My…God! We had 2 Overtime games for Championship weekend! Never before had there been 2 OT playoff games in the same day, in any round! But when it was all on the line, both games more than delivered!

 

I will try my best not to show my Rams bias here, but would like to point out how unbelievable this moment is for me. 2 seasons ago we had traded away the farm for a college QB with a losing record, and we finished 4-12 that year. Things were looking bleak, but 2 years later we’re in the freaking Super Bowl! As always, this week is the Divisional Round, next week is Super Bowl preview.

 

I went 0-2 last week, putting me 4-6 for the playoff run. Not good, so Go Patriots!!! Haha.

 

Rams vs. Saints:

Let’s not focus on the no-call…yet. First, credit to the Saints fans. The noise was insane, and clearly was messing with the Rams in the 1st quarter. But as McVay said, he knew the fans couldn’t keep that up the entire game (although the screaming after the game has lasted 5 days and counting…). The Rams only giving up 2 FG’s to start after strong Saints drives, and only giving up 13 points in the first half felt like a victory in itself, but they struggled to get the offense going. Once again, a fake punt seemed to change the tide for a team and kept the Rams in it.

 

The game was surprisingly close despite the Saints scoring and the Rams punting. I have to admit I was surprised McVay opted to kick a field goal to tie the game at 20 vs. going for it on 4th and inches. Seemed conservative, but it also would have been devastating to not convert.

 

It got exciting with the game tied and Brees with the ball with 5 minutes left. They drove down, and here is where I put play calling as the reason the Saints lost. It’s 1st down at the 13 at the 2 minute warning, Rams with 2 timeouts. At this point the Saints are guaranteed to score at least something to take the lead. Instead of working the clock, the Saints threw incomplete, ran, and then threw on 3rd and 10 where the odds of converting are very small. Granted, this is the controversial no-call, but they basically stopped the clock for the Rams twice AND let them have their final drive with a timeout remaining. Instead, at the 13 they could have run 3 times and kicked a FG, giving the Rams the ball with about 70 seconds left but no timeouts.

 

Anyway, after the no-call, that seemed to take the wind out of the Saints. The Rams drove down and kicked a very scary winding FG to take it into OT. After the INT in OT, I truly felt the Rams would win it. Even the 57 yard FG felt like it was destined to go in, and dang it looked like it would have been good from 70.

 

Patriots vs. Chiefs:

The first half seemed to fly by in about 50 actual minutes! Mainly because the Patriots dominated the time of possession and ran the ball like crazy. The Chiefs had 3 total yards of offense the first 23 minutes of game time, and ended the half with only 37 total yards. The 2nd half would improve dramatically, and despite the Patriots seeming like they were dominating, it was shocking to see the Chiefs go ahead. The last 8 minutes of the game was about the best you’ll see in the NFL, with 4 lead changes and a tie in that time frame. When the Patriots took a 3 point lead with 39 seconds left, even with Mahomes you had to think the Pats punched their ticket. But 2 plays and 48 yards later, the Chiefs were able to kick a tying field goal.

 

Overtime here was exciting yet anticlimactic. Reminded me a bunch of the Falcons Pats Super Bowl, where they simply drove down the field and scored so KC wouldn’t get the ball. They did convert 3 3rd downs though, and the interception turned defensive offsides was heartbreaking. IF Dee Ford literally lines up 4 inches back, the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl.

 

Stat of the Week:

The Patriots are only 3rd team to make 3 straight Super Bowls

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Todd Gurley had a career low 5 touches on Sunday. This is the same player that Jeff Fischer guarded like a QB in Hard Knocks saying “DO NOT TOUCH #30!” during training camp.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Andy Reid is now 1-5 in Championship games

 

Stat of the Week #4:

The last 12 home teams had won Championship games, and home teams were undefeated since 2012. Ironically that year, both road teams won (49ers beat Falcons and Ravens beat Pats on the road).

 

Thought of the Week:

After a season of drama with LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown, it was interesting to watch Todd Gurley. FOX did a good job showing Gurley and pointing out that he wasn’t mad or throwing tantrums, but letting his coach use him when needed. He will be fresh for the Super Bowl.

 

Missed call rant:

As a Rams fan, my first reaction even before anybody saw a replay was “oh no, that’s a flag.” So yes, I am also admitting a blown call. But you also can’t peg that play as the outcome of the game. The refs blatantly missed at least 6 other calls that would have tilted the game in the Rams favor. There were 3 awful delay of game misses where Brees essentially got 42 seconds, and a facemask on Goff’s run that makes it 1st and goal down by 3 in the 4th , ,  a facemask on Cooks’ run, and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kick to the face (see meme below). The Saints also got the ball to start OT and had their chance to drive down again but couldn’t. So don’t tell me that one play makes or breaks it.

Why isn’t the uproar on the Brady roughing the passer? The guy literally nicked his facemask, and Brady flinched moreso because his hand was 4 inches from his face vs. the fact he barely got touched. That also extended a drive that, had the call not happened, would have decided the game in the Chiefs favor.

 

Tony Romo:

People always seem to bash and make fun of the announcers, and while I see some of it, I still think Chris Collinsworth and Tony Romo are the best the industry has seen. The AFC Championship game was made that much more exciting by Tony Romo’s insight. He was correctly picking plays again, telling the audience what the QB was thinking during audibles. “Tom is watching the safety, if he drops down watch for the throw to Gronk!” I found myself several times shifting my eye from the QB/Center to the Tight end, or the Safety, or even to see if the Left Tackle would pull and run to the right. It made the game more enjoyable, and he deserves the new CBS contract coming to him.

 

Rams fandom:

Feel free to tune out lol, but I have to talk about what it’s been like being a Rams fan. Since the 2001 Super Bowl Loss, it has been tough as a Rams fan and want to show the records I have dealt with.

7-9

12-4

8-8

6-10

8-8

3-13

2-14

1-15

7-9

2-14

7-8-1

7-9

6-10

7-9

4-12

11-5

13-3

 

That’s 3 winning seasons in 17 years, only 3 playoff appearances (only 1 in the 15 years prior), 6 last place finishes, and two #1 overall draft picks. 111-160-1 in that timeframe. I’m sure many St. Louisians felt the same way, but I considered bailing when they moved to LA. I love football and love being a fan, but I also started out in life a Vikings fan, and then a Panthers fan for about 4 years before getting onto the Kurt Warner train due to a personal relationship. I’ve been a Rams fan for 20 years now. And truthfully, I thought about jumping to Green Bay, but decided to stay. And this seriously makes it this much sweeter.

 

Speaking of Fandom and Karma:

What was up with the Saints whistle guy? I thought I heard a non-stop whistle during the game but they played on. Only later did I see that the annoying whistle was noticed by a ton of people. And as for the Chiefs, there were 2 fans who got into it. First, you had Snowball guy, and Andy Reid actually had to walk over and say something because the Chiefs would take a penalty if it happened again (wouldn’t that be a way to lose). And then days later there’s video of a green laser pointer hitting Tom Brady in the face.

 

Schadenfreude:

I find it utterly hilarious that the Vikings fanbase is backing the Rams and essentially saying the Saints deserve what happened to them because they can’t let go of 2009. This schadenfreude (getting pleasure by someone else’s misfortune) has shifted the focus of the Saints attacking the Refs, Rams, and Roger Goodell, to now Saints fans and Vikings fans are getting into fights on Twitter, I love it! I have never seen a fanbase come to the defense of another fanbase when they really have no business being in the discussion. The closest thing was when Bills fans were donating money to Andy Dalton, but they had a reason to be thankful for him, the Vikings have nothing to gain! Even Vikings LB Anthony Barr said “Take your L,” and he didn’t even play on that team! I feel this also justifies my hatred of the Patriots. I’ve literally been told that I need to “let 2001 go” but I just can’t. Now that the Pats are in it again against my Rams, it will either be sweet redemption or something that will turn into a lifelong issue for me haha.

 

This sign is in Minnesota, not LA

Coincidence?

Super Bowl is 18 years to the Day from when Tom Brady and Belichick beat the Rams back in 2001

 

OT Change:

There’s a lot of people saying Brady is 3-0 in OT in the playoffs, but all 3 times the Pats won the coin toss and he drove down and scored (thus the other team never had a chance to possess the ball). I think this is a shame and the NFL should truly adopt the college rule already.

 

Memes of the Week: