Should I do a Draft Recap?

Yeah, why not. Not like I am stupidly busy with life.

Alright we made it through all seven rounds (and the various undrafted signees over the following 48 hours). It was a slog at time but there was some very interesting spots during the three days, especially night one. Let’s just do this point form, shall we? I don’t feel like putting a ton of effort into something that is done in a much more thorough fashion by some websites who go as far as rating EVERY PICK. Yeah I’m not doing that.

• The most stunning development of the draft, by a country mile, was the Atlanta Falcons and their pick at the #8 spot in the draft. I wondered if they would pick J.J. McCarthy in my final mock draft to back Kirk Cousins up for a season and then see where things are. I was right…the Falcons did draft a quarterback. That quarterback’s name, though, was Michael Penix Jr. People were stunned. Hell, Cousins was stunned. He certainly DID NOT LIKE THAT. This has all the makings of a three-ring circus so we shall see how things progress down in the heart of Georgia.
• Speaking of stunning, how about Penix being one of the six quarterbacks picked in the first 12 spots of the draft. Incredible. Easily a new record for the draft.
• Hey, look at me! I got the first four picks absolutely correct…as did I think almost everyone. It was almost a no-brainer as to who the first four selections would be and in what order they would go in.
• Now, as for the first stretch of the draft I would go with Penix at #8 since I figured he would go much later in the first round. As for bigger stretches, how about Ricky Pearsall at #31, Max Melton at #43 (again with those Falcons) and Ben Sinnott at #53 who I had going sometime after the third round. Yikes.
• Over 700,000 fans were at this draft. 700,000. I mean it wasn’t 700,000 different people but still. That’s an insane amount of people. And let’s be honest here: other than the people under the structure and close enough to be maybe caught on camera once, is it really that fun an experience? It looks awful to be part of unless you are close enough and feel like you are part of the “action” for lack of a better term. At least it doesn’t cost anything to go there so you could come and go as you please (as far as I know).
• I perused all three shows on Night One. Gotta say, Nick Saban was a breath of fresh air. Honest insight and gave you info that always seemed to be missing from previous draft broadcasts. NFL Network did their usual solid job. And if you want to know how ESPN did, as soon as I went over to that broadcast, the first thing I saw is Mel Kiper basically yelling right in Booger McFarland’s face. So yeah, I would go 1) ABC 2) NFLN 3) watching people on Twitter bitch and complain about all things draft-related but at least picks weren’t getting tipped early unless you were looking for it 4) ESPN.

Let’s get to the winners and loser of this draft:

Winners

• As I usually do, I will preface this with the fact that it is really too soon to truly understand the ramifications of this draft. Many pundits have been wrong. No one thought Tom Brady would be what he ended up being after being drafted 199th back in 2000.
• Da Bears – Caleb Williams was the no-brainer first overall pick. Getting Rome Odunze to pair with him eight picks later was a big pick. Then to pick Tory Taylor in the fourth round was a coup. Overall, a great draft from Ryan Poles.
• Da Vikings – This seems to be a bit more polarizing. As a friend of mine stated, he just wanted the Vikings to have a plan and stick with it. So if it’s taking J.J. McCarthy, then take J.J. McCarthy and don’t overthink it. Which they did. Then they moved up to get Dallas Turner in one of the best trade-ups of the draft. Including Khyree Jackson as their fourth-round pick means they actually got a lot of value with some of their picks, something many teams can’t say.
• Philly – Their secondary is going to be something to deal with. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean were drafted lower than many thought they would be (including myself). And now with Vic Fangio running the defense? Watch out.
• Indy – They got quite the haul with their 2024 draft. And Adonai Mitchell actually picked around where he was supposed to be picked (if not a little later which makes him a bit of a steal). How about that?

Losers

• I don’t care what anyone thinks but drafting Michael Penix Jr. at #8 is a terrible choice. I mentioned it above and I am not going to go over it again. There’s a GM overthinking things and it was interesting watching him try to basically justify the pick to Arthur Blank (or at least that’s what it looked like).
• The Raiders – Now the Raiders, they needed a quarterback. Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell are not the answer unless one of them plays out of his mind this season. So did they trade up? No. They did get Brock Bowers which is a good pick but they need someone to throw him the fucking ball.
• Buffalo* – I put an asterisk here. When they didn’t trade up to grab Brian Thomas Jr. I thought, OK maybe they aren’t go to draft a receiver. Then they trade with the Chiefs to move down to #32 which is kind of weird. The Chiefs picking Xavier Worthy is so much less of a deal than many made it out to be, it’s laughable. According to some, Worthy is nine Puka Nacuas rolled into one. Get the fuck outta here. The Chiefs reached for Worthy according to almost everyone’s thoughts going into the draft so cut it with the “he’s a sure-fire HOFer with Patrick Mahomes” horseshit. THEN, the Bills trade down AGAIN to get out of the first round altogether. Sure, the Panthers also reached with their receiver pick but still, what was Brandon Beane trying to accomplish? And please, moving up on Day 3 of the draft means very little, admit it. So after all this, what do the Bills do? DRAFT A RECEIVER! Are you kidding me? I mean the guy is hilariously entertaining but trading down twice to do what you could have done the previous night all to move up some of your later picks? Oh yeah, real big brain stuff. Again, get the fuck outta here. Over………thinking. And that kind of thing pushes general managers out the door.

OK I have to calm down. Enough of the draft. I was getting pretty pissed off there at the end. Maybe it’s the residual from the Leafs losing in heartbreaking fashion…again. Being a Leafs fan and a Bills fan I should know the pain is coming. But even though I do, it still sucks. Big time.

Were there other winners and losers at this draft? Sure. I don’t have the time, energy or inkling to even go into that. Not my forte, so I dip my toe in the water and steer clear of the “experts” who do this for a living.

Now a little blurb about what is happening with Rogers and their NHL contract. Remember what I said years ago about it? Let’s step into the way-back machine and take a look, shall we?

My opinion was that Rogers would rue the day they made that deal. Not the cost (although it was a ton) but the length of the deal. Twelve years at the time. Now it took longer than I thought it would (and that’s because Rogers couldn’t do this before now becuase there was no interest) but Rogers is selling off the Monday Night NHL game package to Amazon. Yep, it’s only the last two years of the twelve-year contract but still, I had a feeling it would happen. I don’t think Rogers is getting the return on investment they desired and that’s obvious with this move. I am guessing they will be much less of a major player when the Canadian rights come up in 2026. Feels good to be right at least some of the time, especially when others don’t quite agree with you. Then again, I live in the middle of a hockey-mad country that just watched the first- or second-most popular team (depending on who you ask) get bounced from the playoffs….OK I’m not going back to that well. It’s done. Over with. Stop it, Bossman.

Soon enough I will get back in the groove of things. Most important games lists. Conference predictions. My (probably shitty) Heisman ballot. I know it’s only May but with the new college football video game coming out soon I am starting to feel it. College football is in the air (kind of). Have a great week everyone!

Time for the Superest of Bowls (in theory)

Let’s be honest: this is not the Super Bowl matchup that most wanted. Most wanted the darlings of the NFL, the hapless Detroit Lions, to finally ascend the big game for the first time in franchise history. Who did many want as their opponent? Not the Kansas City Chiefs. It wouldn’t have mattered who the Chiefs were up against, most would have wanted the other team to win. Alas, neither thing happened

The Ravens decided to play their worst game of the season at the most inopportune time, abandoning their running game in rainy weather because…well I don’t know why. Some say the Chiefs had the Ravens number but Baltimore ran the ball only sixteen times. Idiots. The Lions, on the other hand, allowed a pretty damn big comeback from the Niners to lose their shot at glory. Now, we can all debate whether Dan Campbell’s penchant for being uber-aggressive and going for it on fourth down twice was the right call (I lean to the second time, at least, being a spot where you try the field goal, if not both but that’s just me). In the end, however, they missed on both of those plays, the Niners took advantage and Mr. Irrelevant gets a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Which isn’t a bad backup feelgood story, no?

Anyway, last year I did a bit of a Super Bowl preview post. Then again, I was off work at the time so I had plenty of time to do so. But…..let’s just do another one, for old time’s sake. (Short) Breakdown of the game:

Offense – Very close. Both teams have arguably the best offenses in the league. They can be fun to watch and tough to defend. I think the Chiefs have the slight edge with the better offensive line but this is almost a push.

Defense – Not quite as close but maybe closer than you think. The Niners have the better defense but the Chiefs looked awfully good against the Ravens a couple weeks back.

Special Teams – Tough call here. Harrison Butker is one of the best kickers in the league but the Niners have a great return game. Call it a wash once again.

Coaching – It’s Andy Reid, folks. Despite his sometimes questionable clock management skills, he is still one of the best coaches of all-time. Kyle Shanahan is good too but has already lost once to Reid and everyone remembers the Falcons debacle back at Super Bowl LI.

So what did we learn? Absolutely nothing. This should be a close one. The Bossman’s prediction…

*drum roll please*

Niners 30 Chiefs 28.

Now watch it be a blowout. Anyway, where can you watch the game? It’s on CBS this year so you get some “Hello, Friends” along with a lot of “I DON’T KNOW JIM!” from our pals Nantz and Romo. For people who are just itching to see what Tim Horton’s has done for the next mediocre commercial, the game is on all CTV affiliates and all the TSNs (including TSN+) except the ugly duckling, TSN2.

Then…that’s it. No more football. Well, that’s not true. The new UFL starts late next month and then the CFL starts in early June. I’m sure there’s some arena football in there too and I see there’s even a European League of Football that we probably can’t get here (legally). So we won’t be totally starved of football but it is a long six-and-a-half months until the start of the college football season. So savour this one final game of the year, even if it does end up sucking. For the final time this season, enjoy the game everyone.

It’s time for another SUPER Wild Card Weekend

Playoff time is here! And what a last week it was in the regular season. Fun times! And for what feels like the first time in a long time, there really isn’t a true Super Bowl favourite. The #1 seeds, San Francisco and Baltimore, have their issues and have been exposed already this season. Plus, until Lamar Jackson can do his normal Lamar Jackson things in the playoffs, it’s tough to trust the Ravens. Even the other division champs have their wrinkles. The Bills, Cowboys, Chiefs and Lions have all looked bad at times this season. So who knows? Maybe we get the worst division champ coming out of it all smelling like roses. Maybe we see the first ever seventh seed Wild Card win. It’s all up in the air. So let’s get down to what could truly end up being a SUPER Wild Card Weekend.

Saturday

Cleveland at Houston	4:30, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/+
Miami at Kansas City	8:15, CTV, TSN 1/3/+

Sunday

Pittsburgh at Buffalo	1:00, CBS, CTV, TSN 4/5/+
Green Bay at Dallas	4:30, FOX, CTV, TSN 4/5/+
LA Rams at Detroit	8:00, NBC, CTV, TSN 4/5/+

Monday

Pittsburgh at Buffalo	4:30, CBS, CTV, TSN 3/5/+
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay	8:00, ABC, CTV, TSN 3/5/+

Juuuuuuuuuuuuust a Few Wild Card Notes

• I don’t know how many years I have been saying this but I will keep saying it: division winners should not be guaranteed a home playoff game. Period. End of story. It’s like saying it’s Philadelphia’s fault for being in a division with Dallas. How dare they. See how stupid that sounds? Well that’s what the NFL says.
• It is going to be one of the coldest NFL games on record on Saturday night in KC. Tickets are now going for $33 which is completely fucking insane for an NFL playoff game. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some crazy weather games, including the 1996 Grey Cup, better known as the Snow Bowl. I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that, as of right now, looks like it could dip to a windchill of -34 Celsius by the end of the game. That’s too cold for even my blood.
• Other weather issues will come about in Buffalo. Right now, as I type this, the snow has just started here in the Guelph area and I can’t see across the street. I can just imagine what Buffalo might look like by Sunday morning. The issue shouldn’t be the snow that has already fallen as they are getting people to start shovelling now. It’s the fact that there is supposed to be a good amount of snow just before and during the game. That’s when the chaos happens. This is great fodder for the “Buffalo should build a dome for their next stadium” people.
• The ManningCast will be back for the Monday night playoff game…but only if you have TSN+ (or another way of getting it that may or may not be illegal).
• Back to the Dolphins-Chiefs game, you will notice it is the only one without an American network listed. That’s because it will air on Peacock. And yes, it is pissing off a lot of Americans. Lucky for us we have a few different options to watch but down there? Nope. I hear Peacock is a pretty decent streaming service but still, to have to subscribe to it to get this one game is insane. Then again, Amazon Prime has their own night of the week for pro football so we can’t be too surprised at this point.

UPDATE: Due to the snowfall that has hit the Buffalo area and the snow still to come, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a State of Emergency for the area to go throughout the weekend. This means that the Steelers-Bills game will now be played at 4:30 on Monday (think of the ratings!) on CBS, CTV and a couple of TSNs. You know, they could have avoided this by, oh I don’t know, HAVING ALL THE GAMES ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY! This way you could have used Monday night but oh no, can’t do that. Money over brains. Every time.

Like last year am I going to add my updated predictions. Actually, my original prediction of Niners-Chiefs in the Superb Owl could still hold up. The biggest disappointment from my original playoff picks? Jacksonville. What a fucking collapse in a relatively easy division. Alright so let’s get to the updated Bossman Playoff Picks of Passion and Probable Disappointment.

Wild Card Round

Cleveland def. Houston

Kansas City def. Miami

Buffalo def. Pittsburgh

Green Bay def. Dallas (yes, a big upset)

Detroit def. LA Rams

Philadelphia def. Tampa Bay

Divisional Playoffs

Baltimore def. Cleveland

Buffalo def. Kansas City

San Francisco def. Green Bay

Detroit def. Philadelphia

Conference Championships

Baltimore def. Buffalo

San Francisco def. Detroit

Super Bowl LVIII

San Francisco def. Baltimore

Would I love to see the Bills win? Absolutely. It would make my year already. Even with the chaos that this year’s playoffs is bringing, I don’t think they quite have the team to do it. I still believe the Niners will win it all but the Chiefs I just don’t have as much faith in as I did at the beginning of the season. Lamar Jackson finally looks good in the playoffs even with a Super Bowl loss and gets a lot of people off his back about his poor playoff performances of the past.

So….it looks like pretty much all of Canada is going to be either snowy or cold or somehow both. So why not stay inside and watch some football? Enjoy the games everyone!

What a dreadful existence – Week 16 NFL TV Schedule

This was the scene at Bank of America Stadium this past weekend in Charlotte for the Falcons-Panthers game. And if you think that’s just maybe part of the upper deck, think again. The entire stadium looked like this. Don’t believe me?

That is during the game as you can see a play going on in this picture. How sad is this? How dreadful must it be to be a Carolina Panthers fan right now? Not only does your team suck-diddly-uck but you don’t even get the chance at the number one draft choice. Why? Well, the Panthers wanted Bryce Young so badly that they exchanged first round picks with the Bears last year. The Panthers had to sweeten the deal so sent a 2025 second rounder, D.J. Moore and…..their first round pick in the upcoming draft. Yeesh. There is a good chance that will be the #1 pick and Bears fans are salivating at the thought. Marvin Harrison Jr.? Caleb Williams? Drake Maye? Maybe another position of need since they aren’t very good either? The possibilities are endless.

For Panthers fans, though, the possibilities aren’t. They won’t pick first overall, they very well might finish last in the league and unless some of their young players (and 2024 draftees) step up in a hurry, this is not a playoff team next season. Nowhere close. Frustrating for sure.

Not frustrating? Getting to watch NFL football on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!!! Let’s fucking go! Here’s the schedule to get you all amped up!

American Networks

Seattle at Tennessee	1:00	Seattle, Spokane
Cleveland at Houston	1:00	Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Detroit at Minnesota	1:00		All affiliates
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay	4:05	Minneapolis, Detroit
Dallas at Miami	4:25		All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Seattle at Tennessee	1:00		Vancouver Island, Alberta	TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5
Cleveland at Houston	1:00		All affiliates (except Vancouver Island & Alberta)
Detroit at Minnesota	1:00	All affiliates
Indianapolis at Atlanta	1:00			TSN+
Jacksonville at Tampa Bay	4:05			TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5
Dallas at Miami	4:25	All affiliates

Primetime & Saturday & Monday (Christmas Day!) Games

New Orleans at LA Rams	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/+
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh	Saturday, 4:30, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/4
Buffalo at LA Chargers	Saturday, 8:00, NBC Buffalo, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/5
New England at Denver	Sunday, 8:00, NFL Network, ABC Boston, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/5/+
Las Vegas at Kansas City	Monday, 1:00, CBS, CTV, TSN 1/3/4/5/+
NY Giants at Philadelphia	Monday, 4:30, FOX, CTV, TSN 1/3
Baltimore at San Francisco	Monday, 8:15, ABC, CTV, TSN 1/3/4/5

Christmas-y Type Notes

• There are some games on this week that, somehow, are not being shown here in Canada without the assistance of a Sunday Ticket or a RedZone:
  • Washington at NY Jets
  • Green Bay at Carolina
  • Arizona at Chicago
• How in the blue hell can three games not be shown at all here with how spread out the games are this week? The power of scheduling. Maybe they do need to go to Matt Zemek’s idea of three Sunday timeslots.
• Look at all the national and almost-national telecasts. It is, I believe, an NFL record for the most national broadcasts in one week with seven. Then there’s two on Sunday that might as well be national broadcasts as well.
• Just so you know, the Bills-Chargers game will be joined in progress on TSN3 and TSN5 at about 10:30 after the World Juniors pre-competition game between Canada and the U.S. (on TSN3) or the Lakers-Thunder game (on TSN5). Man, TSN loves the World Juniors.
• As I said before, a lot of nationwide broadcasts. If you love watching football on CTV, then I hope you love one of four teams because those are the only ones appearing on Sunday afternoon. Lions-Vikings followed by Cowboys-Dolphins across the entire network. At least they should be two really good games.
• Finally, the Nickolodeon game is back. This year’s “Nickmas” game will be the early Christmas Day affair between the Raiders and the Chiefs. It’s only on TSN+ up here but if you have it and have younger kids who may be interested it’s….kinda fun, not gonna lie.

OK we are getting close to the end of the season. Three games remain. Here’s what the playoff picture looks like at this point:

AFC	NFC
#1 Baltimore (11-3) (clinched playoff spot)	#1 San Francisco (11-3) (clinched NFC West)
#2 Miami (10-4)	#2 Dallas (10-4) (clinched playoff spot)
#3 Kansas City (9-5)	#3 Detroit (10-4)
#4 Jacksonville (8-6)	#4 Tampa Bay (7-7)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Cleveland (9-5)	#5 Philadelphia (10-4) (clinched playoff spot)
#6 Cincinnati (8-6)	#6 Minnesota (7-7)
#7 Indianapolis/Houston/Buffalo (8-6)	#7 LA Rams/Seattle/New Orleans (7-7)

As I’ve said before, this Wild Card race may be the wildest in years, no pun intended. Oh and my dream of a 7-10 NFC South champion has gone up in flames as the Bucs and Saints face each other next week so the division champion can have no fewer than eight wins. Damn.

And behold, your list of eliminated teams:

• Carolina
• New England
• Arizona
• Washington
• NY Jets
• Tennessee

Only six. And only maybe three or four will join the list after this week. Good to see a lot of teams still in the mix instead of a few of the seasons in the recent past where half the league was pretty much done with a couple weeks to go.

Now some clinching scenarios. That’s what we are looking at these days anyways and wait until you see some of the scenarios. Fucking ridiculous:

First-Round Bye and Home-Field Advantage

• San Francisco clinches with a win AND a Dallas loss AND a Philadelphia loss AND a Detroit loss

Division Title

• Detroit clinches the NFC North with a win
• Baltimore clinches the AFC North with a win AND a Cleveland loss
• Kansas City clinches the AFC West with a win
• Miami clinches the AFC East with a win AND a Buffalo loss

Playoff Berth

• Detroit clinches with an LA Rams loss OR a Seattle loss
• Miami clinches with a win
• Cleveland clinches with a win AND (a Denver loss AND an Indianapolis loss AND a Buffalo loss AND a Miami win) OR (a Pittsburgh loss AND (a Denver loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss) OR (a Denver loss AND a Miami win and one of Buffalo/Indianapolis/Jacksonville losing) OR (a Buffalo loss AND an Indianapolis win AND a Jacksonville loss AND (a Miami win OR a Kansas City win)))

Elimination

• Chicago is eliminated with loss AND (an LA Rams win) OR (a Seattle win AND one of Minnesota/Green Bay/Tampa Bay winning) OR (a Tampa Bay win AND one of Minnesota/Green Bay/NY Giants winning)
• NY Giants are eliminated with a loss AND (an LA Rams win) OR (a Seattle win AND (one of Minnesota/Green Bay/Tampa Bay winning) OR (an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win)) OR (a Tampa Bay win AND (one of Minnesota/Green Bay winning) OR (an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win)) OR (a Minnesota win AND a Green Bay win AND an Atlanta win AND a Chicago win) OR (a Green Bay win AND a Chicago win AND an Atlanta win)
• Las Vegas is eliminated with a loss
• LA Chargers are eliminated with a loss OR a Jacksonville win OR (a Cincinnati win AND an Indianapolis win AND (a Houston win OR a Denver win OR two of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND a Houston win AND (a Denver win OR three of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND a Denver win AND (a Las Vegas win OR one of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)) OR (a Cincinnati win AND four of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Houston win AND a Las Vegas win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Houston win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Green Bay/New Orleans/Arizona/Baltimore/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Denver win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND an Indianapolis win AND a Cleveland win AND one of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Houston win AND two of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND a Las Vegas win) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND a New Orleans win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Green Bay/Arizona/LA Rams/Baltimore/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND a Denver win AND an LA Rams win AND one of Washington/Detroit/Arizona/Tennessee winning) OR (a Pittsburgh win AND a Cleveland win AND three of Washington/Detroit/New Orleans/Arizona/Tennessee winning)

For fuck’s sake that is crazy. But if you are a betting man (or woman) you could make a boatload of money if one of these stupid Chargers scenarios hits.

So there you go. Enjoy the NFL football over the holidays and have a Merry Christmas!

What a Mess (and the Week 14 NFL TV schedule)

OK where do I begin here with the MILF Hunter? So The Athletic (I won’t say much about that website other than they believe much more highly of themselves than they probably should) reports that Zach Wilson does not want to start for the Jets. Would I blame him? No. The Jets O-line is basically papier-mache. Saying that, he’s a professional athlete and it is EXTREMELY rare to find the one that does not want to compete. And Wilson isn’t that guy.

So after seeing Tim Boyle (TIM FUCKING BOYLE) start and Trevor Siemian pass Wilson as the backup, Jets head coach Robert Saleh has finally seen the light (kind of) and put Wilson back under centre as the starting quarterback. Boyle has been released (and shouldn’t have got a shot in the first place) and Siemian can be the experienced backup. If…IF the Jets can somehow win their next three games, don’t be surprised if a certain recurring guest on the Pat McAfee Show makes his long-awaited return. That’s also if the Jets aren’t mathematically eliminated at that point as well which is a dicey proposition in the AFC as you will see later in this post. Look, the Jets do have a somewhat bright future if they can get some O-line help and have Rodgers for a full season. Barring that, it’s more agony for fans of the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.

Huh, that’s two Jets introductions in a row. Must be a record. OK now let’s get to the schedule which does include the Jets and a very weird occurrence that’s never happened before.

American Networks

Jacksonville at Cleveland	1:00	All affiliates (except Burlington)
Houston at NY Jets	1:00	Burlington
Detroit at Chicago	1:00		Detroit
LA Rams at Baltimore	1:00		Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Seattle at San Francisco	4:05		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane
Minnesota at Las Vegas	4:05		Minneapolis
Buffalo at Kansas City	4:25	All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Jacksonville at Cleveland	1:00	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Ottawa	Windsor, London, Toronto, Atlantic
Houston at NY Jets	1:00		Ottawa
LA Rams at Baltimore	1:00	Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Montreal, Atlantic	Vancouver Island, Alberta
Detroit at Chicago	1:00			TSN1, TSN4
Indianapolis at Cincinnati	1:00			TSN+
Seattle at San Francisco	4:05		Vancouver Island, Alberta	TSN1, TSN3, TSN4
Minnesota at Las Vegas	4:05	Winnipeg
Buffalo at Kansas City	4:25	All affiliates (except Winnipeg)

Primetime Games

New England at Pittsburgh	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, FOX Boston, CTV2, TSN 1/+
Philadelphia at Dallas	Sunday, 8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/4/5/+
Green Bay at NY Giants	Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 3/+
Tennessee at Miami	Monday, 8:15, TSN 1/+

Just a Bunch of Schedule Notes

• The games that will not appear on Canadian television networks (or American ones you can view) unless you have Sunday Ticket or RedZone:
  • Tampa Bay at Atlanta
  • Denver at LA Chargers
  • Carolina at New Orleans
• Oh, the NFC South. The worst division in football. And all four teams are not being shown here. Sounds like justice to me.
• So you notice something about Monday night? Yeah, two games going on at the same time. The only thread between them? The ManningCast which is on TSN+. Get that, you can watch Peyton and Eli and whatever stupid guests they have try to watch and analyze two games at once. Interesting idea and again it’s a lookahead towards when the NFL expands (and they will expand, make no mistake about it).
• The Thursday Nighter. My god. The schedule maker must have thought this was hilarious. Then again, I don’t think he could have even envisioned two offenses so woeful. At least the Steelers got rid of Matt Canada and are opening up somewhat on the offensive side of the ball. The Pats? They might as well tank at this point and get that long snapper quarterback of the future since Mac Jones ain’t it.
• The Bills and the Chiefs get a national audience this week which is nice to see (only one really…Jags-Browns are close but no cigar). Now while the two teams are only two games apart in the standings, it feels like they are miles apart on how good they really are. The Chiefs are doing OK by recent KC standards but the Bills have been terrible at times. Just don’t have the Chiefs needing to score with 13 seconds to go since it might send the Bills (and their fans) over the edge.

Updated playoff picture time bitches!

AFC	NFC
#1 Miami (9-3)	#1 Philadelphia (10-2)
#2 Baltimore (9-3)	#2 San Francisco (9-3)
#3 Kansas City (8-4)	#3 Detroit (9-3)
#4 Jacksonville (8-4)	#4 Atlanta (6-6)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Pittsburgh (7-5)	#5 Dallas (9-3)
#6 Cleveland (7-5)	#6 Minnesota (6-6)
#7 Indianapolis/Houston (7-5)	#7 Green Bay/LA Rams/Seattle (6-6)

Not quite three-quarters of the way through the season but with 17 games there is no way to do fractions nicely so let’s just say we are in the home stretch. It’s December. Close enough. No one has clinched yet but there will be opportunities as I will state below. The NFC South is a complete fucking mess and I hate to say this but I hope the, ugh, Cowboys mop the fucking floor with whoever wins that sorry division. Pains me to even type that but I believe it.

Might as well get right to clinching scenarios. As you know, I do not include ties until the final week of the regular season and even then, only if I absolutely have to since otherwise the amount of scenarios goes through the roof. Let us begin.

Playoff Berth

• Philadelphia clinches with a win AND (an LA Rams loss OR a Seattle loss OR (a Minnesota loss AND a Green Bay loss) OR (a Green Bay loss AND a Detroit loss))
• Dallas clinches with a win AND a Detroit win AND a Tampa Bay loss AND a Seattle loss AND (an LA Rams loss OR a New Orleans loss) AND a Green Bay loss AND a Minnesota loss
• San Francisco clinches with a win AND (a Minnesota loss OR a Green Bay loss)

Elimination

• Arizona is eliminated with an LA Rams win AND a Green Bay win
• New England is eliminated with a loss OR a Houston win OR a Cincinnati win OR (a Las Vegas win AND a Buffalo win)

OK that Dallas scenario is insane. Would be fun if it happened!

Everyone have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games…even tonight’s affair.

What is happening in Buffalo? And the Week 11 NFL TV Schedule

As you probably know, Ken Dorsey was fired as offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills earlier this week. Was it a surprise? A bit of one, sure.

Despite the stats that say the Bills have one of the best offenses in football, you can also honestly say they are wildly inconsistent. Josh Allen has one of the best completion percentages in the league yet the throws that aren’t complete are what take centre stage. Overthrows by 10 yards, throws into double and triple coverage constantly, leading the league in interceptions. He has become one of the biggest risk-reward quarterbacks in recent memory. He either does amazing things or does stupidly shitty things and there seems to be very little in-between.

Also, the Bills running attack has been non-existent for years. And when it did show up it was usually Allen running the ball, almost daring to get injured. This past Monday night, they showed they can run the ball when they need to…with their running backs. They aren’t great but they can be good enough when needed.

So putting this all together, Dorsey has to be responsible for some of this. His playcalling is not good. Period. The results may a lot of times end up being great but it’s not because of him. The talent on the field is there. Saying that, he does feel like a bit of a scapegoat. He was promoted when Brian Daboll left to become head coach of the New York Football Giants and who knows if he was truly ready for the job. He has no say in the personnel he has to work with and who knows how much influence Sean McDermott has over the offense. McDermott has to take some of the blame, as does general manager Brandon Beane, for all of this. It’s a bit of a mess right now as a team that was supposed to contend once again is failing to do so.

Will firing Dorsey help? It remains to be seen. Sometimes change for the sake of change can be a good thing. Either way, something has to be done. This is a franchise that feels like it has been broken twice in the past two seasons. The unbeliveable loss to the Chiefs in the playoffs in 2021, followed by Damar Hamlin’s on-field heart attack last season seem to have partially destroyed this team. They aren’t excuses: it just feels like the franchise isn’t what they were or what some thought they would become. As a fan of the team, I hope they can turn it around but at least for this season, it doesn’t look promising for them.

OK that’s enough Bills talk. Let’s go to this week’s schedule which…OK it does have the Bills on it but they aren’t the feature this week, make no mistake about that. Well, that’s not entirely true either. A lot of the country will be…let’s just get to the damn schedule.

American Networks

Pittsburgh at Cleveland	1:00	All affiliates
Dallas at Carolina	1:00		Tacoma, Seattle, Boston, Presque Isle
LA Chargers at Green Bay	1:00		Minneapolis
Chicago at Detroit	1:00		Detroit
NY Giants at Washington	1:00		Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington
Tampa Bay at San Francisco	4:05		Spokane
NY Jets at Buffalo	4:25	All affiliates (except Seattle & Spokane)
Seattle at LA Rams	4:25	Seattle, Spokane

Canadian Networks

Pittsburgh at Cleveland	1:00	All affiliates
Chicago at Detroit	1:00		All affiliates (except Vancouver Island)
Dallas at Carolina	1:00		Vancouver Island	TSN2
Las Vegas at Miami	1:00			TSN+
Tampa Bay at San Francisco	4:05			TSN2
NY Jets at Buffalo	4:25	All affiliates (except Vancouver & Alberta)
Seattle at LA Rams	4:25	Vancouver, Alberta

Primetime Games

Cincinnati at Baltimore	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN 1/3/4/+
Minnesota at Denver	8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN2
Philadelphia at Kansas City	Monday, 8:15, ABC, TSN 1/3/4/+

Potentially Important Notes and Things And Trash and Such

• What did people do to deserve the Giants-Commanders game? Upstate New York always seems to get stuck with these shitty games but it’s rare for western New York to get them as well. Hopefully who gets their FOX affiliate from that area has Sunday Ticket or RedZone. Otherwise, ugh.
• Speaking of Sunday Ticket and RedZone, here are the games not being shown in Canada if you don’t have one of the two, at least:
  • Tennessee at Jacksonville
  • Arizona at Houston
• Finally done with the morning games. Thank god. I sincerely hate them. As you can tell, I am not a morning person. At all.
• The Grey Cup is this Sunday. This is why only TSN2 is being used for the NFL. After this weekend, though, it should open up quite nicely the rest of the way.
• So yeah the Bills are in a prominent spot since most of the country will get their game with the Jets. And, fair enough, it is an important game in the AFC East since the loser is going to have a very tough time making the playoffs.
• Finally, look at the primetime slate. Now that’s what I’m talking about. The worst team of the bunch, by far, is Denver and they have started to turn things around. This is always what the NFL was looking for when primetime football started decades ago and, unfortunately, they have gotten away from that. I understand that it’s nice to see your team in a primetime, standalone game. But it also means you have to shut your trap when we are stuck with the Panthers and the Bears. Can’t have it both ways.

Alright now let’s get to the playoff picture which is still pretty AFC North-heavy:

AFC	NFC
#1 Kansas City (AFC West)	#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Baltimore (AFC North)	#2 Detroit (NFC North)
#3 Jacksonville (AFC South)	#3 San Francisco (NFC West)
#4 Miami (AFC East)	#4 New Orleans (NFC South)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Pittsburgh	#5 Seattle
#6 Cleveland	#6 Dallas
#7 Houston/Cincinnati	#7 Minnesota

You have three teams half-a-game out of the final Wild Card spot in the AFC and three more teams only one game out. Realistically, the Patriots are the only team truly out of it in the conference. Imagine typing that any time this century. As for the NFC, there seems to be a gap between the top teams and the teams either trying to claw their way into the playoff picture or coming close to tanking to get a better draft pick. That’s why it already sucks when two teams who have combined for a 6-14 record so far this season is the game in your area.

A reminder that next week is one of America’s football celebrations: Thanksgiving (south of the border)! So if you want to partake as well, go ahead and make a 40-pound turkey for four people, enough mashed potatoes to drown a rhino and that fucking disgusting green bean casserole that could be used as a weapon in ground warfare. I will try my best to get the blog post out next week in time for you to have all the information you need. As for this week, just enjoy the games everyone! And if you want to make a turkey this weekend as well, have at it.

Do you believe in Al Michaels (and the Week 8 NFL TV Schedule)?

OK I don’t really believe in the former anymore but I believe in the schedule (I mean otherwise why would I be doing this blog?).

When it comes to football at the NFL level, Al Michaels is one of the greatest play-by-play announcers of all-time. I would put him number two behind Pat Summerall in that category. So it’s a bit of a shock to hear him these days on the Thursday Night Football broadcasts. He seems bored, detached, distracted and just doesn’t seem to give a shit some of the time. I get that TNF has had their share of stinkers and, other than the Sunday morning Europe broadcasts, many could do away with these Thursday nighters. No care for player safety is a big part of it but NFL football is, for the most part, meant to be played on Sundays (with one game on Monday…and the occasional late season game on Saturday and the Thanksgiving games that are on Thursday…you get my point). That doesn’t, though, give Al the right to just cash his cheque and show up to do a piss-poor job. If he hates it that much he can retire. There are plenty of up-and-comers out there that would love that spot and would do a much better job. You never know: this may be Al’s last season and none of us know it. It may be for the best. Must suck to be Kirk Herbstreit who does this on top of all his college football duties and has to try and keep things moving in a positive direction as Captain Curmudgeon acts like he’s getting his toenails pulled out by pliers.

Alright, time for the schedule which does include a game called by Al Michaels:

American Networks

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh	1:00	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit, Cleveland
NY Jets at NY Giants	1:00	Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown
New England at Miami	1:00	Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Minnesota at Green Bay	1:00		Minneapolis, Detroit
LA Rams at Dallas	1:00		Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Presque Isle
Cleveland at Seattle	4:05		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Boston
Cincinnati at San Francisco	4:25	All affiliates

Canadian Networks

New England at Miami	1:00	Montreal, Atlantic
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh	1:00	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan		TSN1
NY Jets at NY Giants	1:00		Windsor, London, Toronto
LA Rams at Dallas	1:00	Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto	Vancouver Island, Alberta, Ottawa, Atlantic
Minnesota at Green Bay	1:00	Winnipeg, Ottawa
Philadelphia at Washington	1:00			TSN+
Cleveland at Seattle	4:05	Vancouver, Alberta		TSN1
Cincinnati at San Francisco	4:25	All affiliates (except Vancouver & Alberta)

Primetime Games

Tampa Bay at Buffalo	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, ABC (Buffalo), CTV2, TSN 1/+
Chicago at LA Chargers	8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN 1/3/+
Las Vegas at Detroit	Monday, 8:15, ABC, CTV2, TSN 1/3

Random Analysis

• I love when there’s a game in the late window that’s available only to people within 10 kilometres of the stadium the game is being played in and anyone who owns a hat of the visiting team. But at least if you have Sunday Ticket or RedZone you don’t have to worry about it since they all come in glorious HD. Speaking of RedZone…
• Games not being shown in the Great White North unless you have RedZone…hosers:
  • Atlanta at Tennessee
  • New Orleans at Indianapolis
  • Houston at Carolina
  • Kansas City at Denver
  • Baltimore at Arizona
• The Chiefs-Broncos game seems like a relatively big one (mostly because of the Chiefs) and to not have it available anywhere here is quite surprising to be honest. Realistically, other than Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis and most of Texas, this game is being shown in the somewhat unpopulated American, uh, west part of the Central Time Zone and into the Rockies. A big area for sure but not a ton of eyeballs.
• Let’s see if the Bills will fuck up tonight. And if they do, how they do it. Since that seems to be the entertainment these days. I wonder if Vegas has odds on stuff like that. Ah, who am I kidding…they have odds on damn near everything sports-related.

I am hoping we are in for a fun Sunday (and Monday) of professional football. Lately, it hasn’t been that great to be honest. I mean I still watched most of it but the games have been lacking. Let’s hope the entire league gets out of its funk. Enjoy the games everyone!

What the hell is going on with the running back position? Also, the Week 3 NFL TV Schedule.

No, I won’t post the picture of the injury. You want to see it (if you haven’t already) go find it yourself. And don’t be a fucking idiot about it like Drew Magary.

So what is going on with running backs these days? Sure, football is a passing game now but running backs still had use and there are still those running backs that can top 1,500 yards in a season every so often. But man, the running back position sure has changed in the last decade…a lot. First off, running backs are almost more important in the passing game nowadays. No, I don’t mean blocking (although that is important). Running backs need to be able to catch balls out of the backfield or else they are semi-useless to most coaches.

Secondly, running backs just aren’t getting paid as much as many other positions. Kind of shocking but it is a sign of the times. And leads me into my third point…running backs are getting injured at a bit of an alarming rate. Nick Chubb is done for the season after his injury this past Monday night and Saquon Barkley got injured as well on Sunday but, luckily, is only gone for maybe up to three weeks. Other running backs who are injured right now include Marlon Mack (torn Achilles), J.K Dobbins (torn Achilles), Jonathan Taylor (ankle), and Jeff Wilson Jr. (knee). Mack and Dobbins’ seasons are over. And there are at least a dozen other running backs with various issues that are anywhere from gametime decisions to being out for a week or two. I don’t get it. Most teams have natural grass now so that can’t be an issue.

I do remember when I was a running back years ago, though (a whole lot lighter and a whole lot more muscular than now that’s for sure). It did feel like every season I had an injury even if it was an annoyingly nagging one (like an ankle injury in grade 12). I still remember taking over for the running back who broke his leg and then in the next game, by the end of it, I was hobbling too after getting hit in the knee. So it comes with the territory to have nicks and bruises and cuts and shit like that. It just feels like more running backs (even at the college level) are getting injured and the average career of a running back might be shorter than ever. I don’t think the running back will go the way of the option where only a few teams use the running back often but I can see more and more teams running the ball a whole lot less in the future (or allowing their quarterback to run all the time….yeah looking at you Josh Allen…learn to fucking slide before you get killed).

Alright enough being sentimental (kind of) over running backs and my prior abilities to run without getting winded. It’s time for the NFL television schedule for Canadians.

American Networks

Tennessee at Cleveland	1:00	Cleveland
Buffalo at Washington	1:00	Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown
New England at NY Jets	1:00	Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
New Orleans at Green Bay	1:00		All affiliates (except Minneapolis & Detroit)
LA Chargers at Minnesota	1:00		Minneapolis
Atlanta at Detroit	1:00		Detroit
Carolina at Seattle	4:05	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit
Chicago at Kansas City	4:25		All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Buffalo at Washington	1:00	Vancouver, Alberta, Northern Ontario, Toronto
New England at NY Jets	1:00	Montreal, Atlantic
Atlanta at Detroit	1:00	Kitchener, Ottawa		TSN4
New Orleans at Green Bay	1:00	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg	All affiliates
LA Chargers at Minnesota	1:00			TSN+
Carolina at Seattle	4:05	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan
Chicago at Kansas City	4:25	Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Atlantic
Dallas at Arizona	4:25	Montreal		TSN4

Primetime Games

NY Giants at San Francisco	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN 1/4/5
Pittsburgh at Las Vegas	8:20, NBC, CTV, TSN 3/4/5
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay	Monday, 7:15, ABC, TSN 4/5
LA Rams at Cincinnati	Monday, 8:15, TSN1

Canadian-Style Notes for this football schedule…an NFL schedule for the third week of the season

• That was kind of wordy. Have to work on that.
• Games not being shown here in Canada (unless you have the Reddest of Zones):
  • Denver at Miami
  • Indianapolis at Baltimore
  • Houston at Jacksonville
• When is the last time a Cowboys game was barely available if you didn’t have RedZone or Sunday Ticket? That tells you how terrible the Cardinals are and that very few people want to watch them (until they get Caleb Williams and even then).
• I think from now on with the conferences not tied to the networks, we should see better games in both windows. I say that knowing that the Bears are playing the Chiefs in a late game that everyone can watch.
• Monday Night Football Kinda Sorta Doubleheader-ish thing this week again. Rams-Bengals only on TSN1 with the Eagles and Bucs on an extra TSN as well as ABC.
• Big time miss with the Sunday nighter. Honestly, this shouldn’t have been picked in the first place but what can you do.

Interesting start to the NFL season so far. When you have Kirk Cousins on pace to shatter every quarterback record known to man and the Vikings on pace for an 0-16 season at the same time, you know things have been a bit wacky to start. I wondered if I would have the same excitement that I did when I played fantasy football and gambled on the games and I actually do. Surprising, I know. We shall see if that will last the entire season. But for now, let us all enjoy the games everyone!

I kind of hate myself for this (the 2023 NFL preview)

Ugh. I’ll be honest: I am not an Aaron Rodgers fan. Never really have been. I don’t hate the guy. I respect what he’s done on the football field. I just think he’s fucking weird and can be a complete crybaby pussy when things don’t go his way. Then again, I guess I could say that last part for many pro athletes.

OK Bossman, then why did you put his picture up to start this blog post? Well, as much as I dislike A-A-Ron, he’s still a top tier quarterback. And his move to the New York Jets after what seemed like a bunch of seasons being pissed off with Green Bay management (and rightfully so at times, I will admit) is the biggest offseason move in my opinion. It also makes it so he will be facing my favourite team, the Buffalo Bills, twice every season (and three if they meet in the playoffs). That’s a big deal. There is a shift in the AFC East and the AFC in general that’s a little more than your normal “Team A has improved and should fight for a playoff spot after not making it last year.” This is “Team A has acquired a gamechanger and could compete for the division title if the chips fall in their favour.”

It seems like every season I take a quick look at how I did the previous year with some of my predictions. So why not do that again right now? Because I don’t want to? Too fucking bad, it’s tradition. This is making me sound a bit schizophrenic.

• I had Buffalo beating the Rams in the Super Bowl. Good fucking God. I mean yeah the Rams had injuries but what was I thinking?
• Had the Chargers losing the AFC title game. Hey, they made the playoffs but lost in an epic collpase against Jacksonville.
• In the other conference championship I figured Tampa Bay would make it there and then lose. Actually I had them with the second-best record in the league. They were good…but not that good. Even with Tom Brady.
• I also had the Colts and Titans to make the playoffs. Woof.
• I did have Houston near the bottom to get the top pick of the NFL Draft. I had the Falcons actually “winning” that pick and they weren’t too far off. Having the Jags, Giants and Seahawks that low though? Damn.

Alright enough of that memory shit. I think I’ll do better this time, no….I WILL do better this time. I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me in the butt. Let’s go with the projected standings where a funny little asterisk beside a team means they get to be a Wild Card team this season (I think):

AFC East		NFC East
Buffalo	13-4	Philadelphia	13-4
NY Jets*	10-7	Dallas*	10-7
Miami*	9-8	NY Giants	8-9
New England	7-10	Washington	7-10
AFC North		NFC North
Cincinnati	12-5	Detroit	10-7
Baltimore*	12-5	Minnesota*	9-8
Pittsburgh	9-8	Green Bay	7-10
Cleveland	8-9	Chicago	6-11
AFC South		NFC South
Jacksonville	10-7	New Orleans	9-8
Tennessee	7-10	Atlanta	8-9
Houston	6-11	Carolina	6-11
Indianapolis	4-13	Tampa Bay	5-12
AFC West		NFC West
Kansas City	13-4	San Francisco	13-4
LA Chargers	9-8	Seattle*	9-8
Denver	8-9	LA Rams	7-10
Las Vegas	5-12	Arizona	3-14

Notes on all this fun and crazy crap

• I figured there would be a lot of parity last year. It didn’t quite work out that way with a few teams running away to the top of the league. I can’t see a 14-win team this season but you never know. I have the Bills, Chiefs, 49ers and Eagles all getting to the 13-win mark.
• The best race in the AFC will definitely be in the AFC North. Cincinnati and Baltimore look like they should be neck-and-neck to win the division and you can’t totally count out the Steelers either there although they will have to show out and garner a couple of upsets to make it a three-way race.
• In the NFC, the North is going to be closest divisional race there too. The Lions might finally be the class of the division although the Vikings are lurking and have been at the top many times over the last decade.
• The NFC South should also be a good race but for many of the wrong reasons. I do have the Saints getting over .500 but I could see the division winner having eight wins which I cannot stand.
• As for the Wild Card race in the NFC, it’ll be…alright. There’s going to be some eight-win teams in the mix late in December and into January and perhaps even a team like the Packers still alive going into the final week. Yeah, it might be that dire.
• In the AFC it won’t be quite the same. The Dolphins, Steelers and Chargers I have fighting down to the wire for that final Wild Card spot with the Broncos and Browns maybe, just maybe, being in the mix as well.
• It just feels like the Cardinals are already starting their race to the bottom of the league. Sure I have the Colts, Bucs and Raiders also not doing very well but Arizona…man, I wonder if three wins is too much for them. They could be that bad…even with Kyler Murray as their quarterback.
• I thought Josh Allen would win the MVP last season. He had a good year but nothing compared to Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts, who battled it out for the award with Mahomes winning it. This year…I believe Joe Burrow channels his inner “final year at LSU” and goes off for a monster season to lead the Bengals to the AFC North title.
• Should I pick a Rookie of the Year? Hey, I did well with my Aidan Hutchinson choice since I think he won one of the various rookie awards (although Sauce Gardner was the real revelation last season). This year I will go with Bijan Robinson on the offensive side of the ball and Jalen Carter on defense.
• I should have went with Dan Campbell last year as Coach of the Year. Trust your gut, Bossman! This year my gut says Robert Saleh of the Jets will win it but don’t count out Sean Payton or Dan Campbell yet again.

Playoffpredictionslet’sjustfuckinggo!

Wild Card Round

Buffalo (2) def. Miami (7)

NY Jets (6) def. Cincinnati (3)

Jacksonville (4) def. Baltimore (5)

San Francisco (2) def. Minnesota (7)

Detroit (3) def. Seattle (6)

Dallas (5) def. New Orleans (4)

Divisional Playoffs

Kansas City (1) def. NY Jets (6)

Jacksonville (4) def. Buffalo (2)

Philadelphia (1) def. Dallas (5)

San Francisco (2) def. Detroit (3)

Conference Championships

Kansas City (1) def. Jacksonville (4)

San Francisco (2) def. Philadelphia (1)

Super Bowl LVIII

San Francisco (2) def. Kansas City (1)

Yes the Chiefs will get back to the Super Bowl yet again. It’ll help that I have the Bengals getting upset in the Wild Card Round by the Jets. The Niners will finally get the Super Bowl that has eluded them for almost three decades and they get revenge for the Chiefs beating them four years prior. Jacksonville will get close by getting to the AFC Championship and the Lions will win their first playoff game since 1991. I can feel it. I think.

We are getting closer. That’s right, the first college football schedule of the season is right around the corner. Sure it’s Week Zero but still…it’s WEEK ZERO! As is the norm, I am so looking forward to this season. Hell, I will be on the edge of my seat watching New Mexico State hosting UMass in less than two weeks! That’s how much I am looking forward to college football returning. You all have a great upcoming week!

Sure, let’s do a bit of a draft recap

I will get to this man a bit later since he went through quite the night.

As usual, the draft was a fun time…well, the first night was fun then it got steadily less fun until the final rounds when other than NFL Network’s Stump The Truck, almost nothing was really all that fun. But I watched most of it. What can I say, I am way into football. Probably too much but soon enough I will be on my own a lot more so football may be the only thing that keeps me company. God, that’s sad. Let’s move on.

First of all, I will take a look at my mock draft and compare it to the actual draft results and…yep, I got basically nothing right. I couldn’t even get the first two picks right. I had C.J. Stroud going first followed by Bryce Young. I think Carolina made the right pick out of the two but I was sure they had their sights set on Stroud. Funny enough, though, I got two picks exactly right: Zay Flowers to the Ravens at #22 and Wanya Morris to the Chiefs at #92. That really doesn’t make any sense but it’s the truth. Other than that, everything else wrong and some were REALLY wrong.

Reaches

It’s always too soon to look at this but there seem to be picks that were universally thought of as reaches: as in a team picked a player way earlier than they probably would have gone. I know some teams absolutely want a specific player and worry about not getting them that much that they either take them too soon or trade up to get them when they didn’t need to. Still doesn’t mean it wasn’t a stretch for that player. Let’s look at a few that felt obvious.

Darnell Wright (#10 overall to Chicago) – I, along with most others, had Wright pegged as a late-1st round/early-2nd round pick at best. The fact that the Bears also passed on Peter Skoronski, from Northwestern (supposedly Chicago’s Big Ten school) is the real headscratcher here.

Jahmyr Gibbs (#12 to Detroit) – Speaking of headscratchers, it’s like Detroit brought back Matt Millen and his new focus wasn’t wide receivers but running backs. Detroit did not need help at running back but took Gibbs at this point anyway. I had figured he’d end up on the Bills which didn’t thrill me but Gibbs is better than what they have at this point. Anyway, Detroit ended up trading D’Andre Swift to the Eagles because of this pick. I don’t get it.

Deonte Banks (#24 to NY Giants) – Did the Giants need a cornerback? Absolutely. Was Joey Porter Jr. still on the board? Absolutely. Was Kelee Ringo still on the board? Absolutely. Was Cam Smith still on the board? Absolutely. I could go on and on but Banks wasn’t a first rounder and I’d be shocked if he plays like one.

Derick Hall (#37 to Seattle) – The Seahawks didn’t exactly need a defensive end but they decided to pick one anyway. OK, that’s fine. To pick Hall when there were a few other guys on the board who were rated way higher made no sense. Hall was barely a second rounder in most mock drafts.

Steals

On the other hand, we have our draft steals. Every draft has their steals and yes I know Tom Brady was a “steal.” Actually, no, at the time, no one thought he was a steal of a pick. No one. At all. If you say you did, you’re a dirty fucking liar. Again, this is way too early so by the time the next draft occurred, yes, Brady was considered a massive steal. Hell, he would have been a steal as a late second rounder.

Christian Gonzalez (#17 to New England) – The biggest steal of the draft in my opinion. I had him going third overall and many mock drafts had him in the top seven picks. Did the Pats need any help in the secondary? No, but how do you pass on a guy that has dropped approximately 10 spots or so in the first round when you don’t have a huge need? Once again, Bill Belichick is playing 4-D Parcheesi while everyone else is playing Snakes and Ladders.

Dalton Kincaid (#25 to Buffalo) – I was not happy when Bijan Robinson was off the board super early. Man did he go from not even a first rounder like a month ago to Top 10 pick. Anyway, the Bills did the next best thing (that they needed) by getting the best tight end in the draft in Kincaid. Josh Allen could make the guy…well, not a star but a very dependable receiver.

Joey Porter Jr. (#32 to Pittsburgh) – How did the last into the second round? There were easily six different teams that should have taken him and passed. Yeah I’m looking at you New York Football Giants (or GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-Men in honour of Chris Berman). He may make a couple of teams pay for passing on him this coming season.

Jalin Hyatt (#73 to NY Giants) – So the Giants make one of the worst picks of the early part of the draft and then somehow snag Hyatt in the third round. Hey, whatever works. I could have also put Hyatt’s Tennessee Volunteer teammate Cedric Tillman here as he went one spot later to the Browns.

Alright let’s get down to the Will Levis situation. ESPN did this man (and his family) dirty. Well, most of them. I think the girlfriend loved the attention. Still though, to spend four-plus hours in that room and not get your name called has to suck. And ESPN loved it. You know they did. Most people had him going in the #7-#13 range. I had him going to Washington at #16. Then someone on Reddit (I think) tweeted that the Panthers were considering him for the top pick. All of a sudden, people became a lot more interested in him. It also meant that every draft pick that wasn’t him would make him look worse. And yes I know there are others that suffer the same plight but he is, by far, the most hyped of anyone who has had that happen. Also, why didn’t Tennessee move up into the first round to get him? Now they lose a potential option year if he ends up being good. Poor management by the Titans there.

Best Draft

Again, this is way too early but you can kind of tell when a team probably had a good draft (unless one of their top picks is a flop). Here is my list of the top three teams from draft day.

Philadelphia – It feels almost unanimous among experts (which I am not one of) that the Eagles had the best draft. Not only did they continue their Georgia Bulldog-riffic defense picking Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith, but they also drafted Bama’s Tyler Steen who could potentially anchor the offensive line soon enough and somehow had Kelee Ringo (another Bulldog) fall into their lap in the fourth round. Finally, Detroit’s stupidity made it so the Eagles got D’Andre Swift in a trade with the Lions. An all-around great few days for possibly the NFC favourites.

Indianapolis – No, this isn’t all about the Anthony Richardson pick although that is what much of the Colts’ draft will hinge on. They had a great draft otherwise, though, with a huge value pick in the fourth round, nabbing Adetomiwa Adeboware. Really, it’s Richardson and Adeboware for the Colts. If they both hit then this will end up being the number one draft crop in hindsight. Otherwise….yikes. Huge risk-reward for a team that feels the time is right to make huge moves.

Pittsburgh – The Eagles’ cross-state rival also had quite the good, if not underrated, draft, looking like the smartest team coming out of the draft. They filled pretty much all their needs in the first three rounds and then got some great value late. Porter is a steal and teams may regret not picking him.

Worst Draft

Very rarely does a team get selected having the worst draft and then it ends up that everyone was wrong in hindsight. So yeah, this is not a good group to be in.

Jacksonville – Third worst on our list is the Jags with a bit of a perplexing draft. Things were looking great for a team that looked like it may run away with the AFC South over the next few years. That may not be the case anymore, and this draft didn’t help matters any. Unfortunately, the Cam Robinson situation forced them to pick O-line early but Anton Harrison may not have been the guy. Tank Bigsby was a pretty bad pick and could have been got two rounds later. And for a team that needed a tight end as another weapon for Trevor Lawrence, getting Brenton Strange isn’t it with other guys on the board. Just weird all around.

Minnesota – Look, they did pretty well with the Jordan Addison pick. Beyond that? Woof. Every other pick was a reach and they really didn’t do anything to help Kirk Cousins beyond getting Addison to hopefully pair with Justin Jefferson. Cousins is in the last year of his contract and this felt like the year the Vikings really had to try and go for it or start building for the future and they did neither.

San Francisco – Just like Philly, it’s a pretty unanimous vote on the other end of the draft grades. The ass end, if you will. The 49ers did a deplorable job this time around. Lucky for them, as long as Brock Purdy and/or Trey Lance are ready to go, this team is ready to battle for the NFC title at the very least. But holy shit, you’d think you would draft one guy that would help the team this coming season. Especially on the offensive line, where they needed help and drafted nobody. But hey, they drafted a kicker. Before the 100th pick. For fuck’s sakes what a joke.

Finally, a quick look at the two networks showing the draft. Most people seemed to be watching ESPN, as per usual. The NFL Network picked up the rest of the viewers. Problem was, the amount of complaints I heard about ESPN were staggering. Yet, these same people obviously outright refused to just, oh I don’t know, turn to the other network with draft coverage. I get that hearing the old NFL Primetime music is great (it really is) but if the coverage sucks then change the channel. My opinion, as you may know, is that the NFL Network has always had better coverage since they started showing the draft. I mean, that’s their whole thing: the NFL. ESPN suffers from trying to put in as many horrific stories about the draftees and too many people involved in the production. At least a quarter of the people involved could have been axed because they sucked at their job on this night.

I think that’s the first draft recap I have done in a long time. I don’t feel like looking. I’m not really a recap kind of guy but I figured what the hell. We are now 107 days away from the college football season and the posts will start coming along more frequently once again. We are getting close to true football season, folks! Not that I’m minding the XFL since it has been pretty good. The USFL, on the other hand, ugh. Have a great rest of the week everyone.

When’s the last time I did a Super Bowl Preview?

Huh, it looks like last year was the only year I didn’t do one. That doesn’t feel right. Oh well.

Saying that, I will not go all out and have a post that takes twenty minutes to read to preview this one game. There are many other sites that do that and they do it better…because it’s their job. I’m here to do this quick and relatively painlessly. See? I’m looking out for your best interests. Let’s begin.

We shall begin with the television broadcast information. The Super Bowl is on FOX and it might feel a bit weird with Joe Buck not calling this game. I’m sure Kevin Burkhardt will do a good job…maybe even a better job than Joe would do. As for watching it on a Canadian channel you can do so on all CTV affiliates and all TSN stations except for TSN2. So plenty of choice there for sure.

Now let’s get to the breakdown of the game followed by my pick which may (not a chance) or may not (most likely) be right:

Offense – This is actually closer than you might think. Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback in the league today although Jalen Hurts has put up an amazing season that might nab him the MVP. Travis Kelce is a crazy-good offensive weapon that no team can match. The offensive lines, however, are pretty much even, as are the running backs. I think the Chiefs have the edge but it’s relatively close.

Defense – This is not as close. Not that the Chiefs have a bad defense but the Eagles had the best defense in the league this year. The only think that KC might have in their favour here is that they have guys who have been to the big dance before. That can mean a lot. But really, it’s the Eagles winning the defensive battle here.

Special Teams – Both teams have great kickers and punters. Their return teams are quite good, if not underrated. It would not surprise me to see a great return during the game, if not a touchdown. I will call this a dead heat.

Coaching – Look, Nick Sirianni has done a great job this year with the Eagles. You could even say Coach of the Year for him. But he’s going up against Andy Reid. And he isn’t the coach Andy is. Advantage Chiefs.

After going through that EXTENSIVE look at the two teams (see, NFL Network will spend over 200 hours going over them. So who’s the efficient one?) I will make my prediction…drum roll, please…..

Chiefs 28 Eagles 24.

Yeah, sounds like I am picking kind of an upset but I believe it will be a close game. At least I am hoping so.

So we are the end of another football season. Well, I guess the XFL and USFL start soon and the stupid Arena League is starting back up but I have a feeling I will be watching very little of these games (and in the case of the Arena League, none at all because arena football is dumb and gimmicky). I will be back with my How Did I Do posts (poorly) and maybe a random post or two but that’s it until just before the NFL Draft. As I have said earlier on, I won’t be doing a bunch of mock drafts. It will be one prediction (with potential trade predictions) just before the draft. Anyway, enjoy the Super Bowl (and all the food and drink that come along with it)!