Should I do a Draft Recap?

Posted on May 7, 2024 by guelphbossman

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!

If I had the power to change things – UPDATED VERSION!

Posted on March 3, 2024 by guelphbossman

I did this post over nine years ago. Crazy, right? I went over some of the things I would do if I was put in control of college football. So maybe it’s about time to see how I did and then look at a few more things I would do. Let’s fucking go with this potential bullshit!

In OT, they should start farther back than the 25-yard line. OK they still haven’t changed this and they have made it worse by going to the 2-point shootout after the second overtime period. That is so ridiculous. Either take out the gimmick (which reminds me of the penalty shootout at the end of regular season hockey games which also drives me nuts) or make it so teams can tie after two overtime periods like in the CFL. College football had the greatest overtime format and they have somehow been overtaken by the NFL who, for all the good they do with rule changes, spent years fucking up their overtime games and basically stumbled upon rules changes thanks to the Bills and…well, I don’t want to talk about it.
Stop time after EVERY first down makes the game a little longer than most can handle. They listened! THEY LISTENED! Kind of. I had proposed doing it in the final five minutes of each half or even in the second and fourth quarter only. They do it all game now. Which is good? Problem is, some of that saved time has gone to more ad breaks. That is not so good. All in all, we will call this a push but it definitely leads into my next point that I had made…
Three-hour TV windows are dumb. This is still the case. And it’s done even more than it was back then. ESPN does it a few times a year with their evening games by pushing them to 6:00 and 9:00 so that the late SEC game isn’t TOO late. Now the ACC Network also does this one week, usually Week 2. They have so many games for their teams that they have to do this. At least they are smart enough to start at 11:00 and this past season, moved to three hour, fifteen minute windows for some of the games. That’s a perfect compromise. Expect other conference networks to potentially try this with conferences becoming bloated.
Can we stop with the games against FCS schools outside of the first month? No, it seems like they can’t. The SEC has dialed it back a bit. Only about half their teams (if that) play those games during the penultimate weekend of the regular season. But now we have the ACC doing it now. Stop it. Please. Play them in October. November should be for the biggest games, not Western Illinois (no offense to the Leathernecks) going to Georgia to get their asses handed to them for three-quarters of a mil.
Start Division 4 right now. I think I need to tweak this idea since a fuck-ton of realignment has happened in nine years. I am going to change this into football becoming its own special college sport and not totally following conference alignments in the rest of the sports. Don’t get me wrong, some of the realignments have been good but many have been weird, head-scratching, money-hungry or just plain dumb. So let football have their own conference alignments and allow the rest of the sports to go back to having the Southwest Conference or the Metro Conference or maybe other, better, more geographically sensible conferences since even in basketball, going halfway across the United States for a Tuesday night conference game is beyond ridiculous.
Is it time about time that CIS teams move south so to speak? At the time, I used Simon Fraser being in D-II as a starting point. Now, SFU doesn’t even have a football team thanks to their athletic department being a complete dumpster fire (not to mention much of the administration). Rogers still has their NHL contract for another few years (and there seems to be a bit of regret on their end which I mentioned would happen) so any CIS football, especially OUA, won’t be shown on their network any time soon. Maybe TSN can step up a bit with TSN+. Putting even one game a week (to start) on the streaming platform would be a good beginning to get eyeballs back on university football in this country. So, do I still think CIS teams should join the NCAA? Not nearly as much as I used to but some programs (I’m looking at you, York) need to seriously think about whether continuing having a football program is worth it.
Let us all be able to get the ESPNs, FOX Sports 1, etc. Yeah not even close. The amount of games available to us up here is still the same, if not a bit less now. Peacock has joined the fray and we cannot get those games up here. Still can’t get any of the FOX, FS1 or, now, FS2 games up here in Canada. I’ve always said (and I will continue to say it) that the death of cable (which still will happen regardless of all these streaming services teaming up in a way) will partially come down to not giving the customers what they want to see, especially if they are willing to pay for it. I had mentioned years ago that I would pay a few hundred bucks a season if I could have access to have every FBS game on TV. Every one. I don’t care about news or movies or TV shows or much else. Those I can watch when I want on Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime or some other streaming service if I really want to. But college football is the one thing I would want all of and should have the ability to get but I have the god damn audacity to be Canadian. What a dick I am. So yeah, this should still happen.
Do not put out the CFP poll until the bowl games are being selected. Because The Committee is filled with people who know college football but struggle with logic, you get situations like you got this past season. It easily (and I mean FUCKING EASILY) could have been rectified if when they had dropped Florida State to #5 after Week 13, they kept them there after Week 14, even though they knew one of Michigan and Ohio State was going to lose. Sure it wouldn’t have been that well received but then they wouldn’t have looked like complete assholes when they dropped them in the final poll to destroy their national championship hopes. If they wait until just as the bowl games and playoff seedings are being selected, then there’s not nearly as much of a problem. Debate all you want but at least you don’t compare it to previous weeks’ polls which make The Committee look like fucking idiots.

Alright, that was the list nine long years ago. I was in my 30s. And, looking at my body, a lot fitter. I hate the fact that injuries can happen due to nothing but air and movement these days. Other than what I see in the mirror, a lot has changed in college football as well since then. So I guess I have to come up with a few more things I would change. Here we go.

Someone other than the NCAA has to put forth strict NIL rules and regulations. This feels like a no-brainer. When NIL started, it was great. Great stories of these players getting some nice deals and some players even sharing the wealth with their teammates. Awesome. Then, to the shock of absolutely no one, things got out of hand. Quickly. Now players are making hundreds of thousands of dollars (which is fine) but it has nothing to do with their name, image or likeness. All it has to do with a booster (or group of boosters) ponying up a bunch of money to buy a player’s loyalty (for at least a year). Isn’t this the same kind of shit SMU got the death penalty for? There has to be rules to all this and keeping boosters out of the player payment business would be first and foremost on that agenda. Start there, draft something up, tell all the teams they will abide by it or there will be penalties. Keep going against the rules, you will give up the one thing they all covet: money. If a program is fined millions of dollars, they will think twice of allowing some of these boosters, who think they can do whatever the fuck they feel like, from digging their claws into some of their roster.
Football players (if not players in other sports) should be able to drop down to a part-time course load during the season. Playing college sports is not easy. You have to organize your time. I remember when I was a university athlete. I couldn’t get things right. I found it too difficult to commit to a sport AND a full-time course load. I am sure other athletes feel the same way. And the way college athletics are going, these students don’t need to finish their degrees before they leave school. They should be able to finish when they can. This may also push some student-athletes to be in more difficult programs. I mean there can only be so many communications jobs out there, right?
Targeting HAS to be figured out. Does anyone really know what targeting is? Hell, the officials struggle to figure it out so I am not surprised everyone else is perplexed by it. Most of it seems to centre around hitting a player with the crown of your helmet. And yes, it’s dangerous. I still remember getting speared in practice in high school by a guy who had never been on special teams before. It knocked the wind out me something fierce. It’s a player safety issue and has to be taken seriously. Splitting the penalty into Targeting 1 and Targeting 2 penalties is a good start in my opinion. Targeting 2 can be reserved for the egregious penalties where the player deserves to be ejected. And hell, throw a 20-yard penalty on to it instead of a 15. Hopefully that helps a bit. Targeting 1 can still be 15 yards but the player stays in the game. The coaches and players may understand this better and we can see how it goes for a few years before looking into it again and adjusting it where need be.
If there are going to be more superconferences (and less conferences in FBS in general) it’s time all conferences go to nine conference games. A few years back I would have railed against this idea but I didn’t realize that conferences might hit the 20-team mark in the next few years. Give it a decade and there is no way there will be nine conferences like there are now. At least one, if not multiple, conferences will cease to exist. With upwards of 18 teams at this point, putting an extra conference game makes all the sense in the world. Many Power Five teams can still have their one FCS non-conference game (which gives some FCS teams a much needed infusion of cash), along with a Group of Five non-conference game. Add a P5 non-conference game and there you go. See how easy that is? Do I have to figure everything out for you guys?

Are there other things needed to “fix” college football? Of course. It feels like college football is barreling down (in one of those Japanese bullet trains) towards no return. Where it will look not a whole lot different than the minor league of the NFL. It kind of is already but in 2030 I have a feeling we will look at even just before COVID and say “college football wasn’t like that, was it?”

The combine is occurring and I am glad to see some players saying “Fuck that noise.” If scouts can’t figure things out from the absolute avalanche of game film on these guys then they should find another line of work. No, instead we have to do drills that, as much as some want to say otherwise, don’t mean a whole lot compared to how they play the game. Tom fucking Brady just ran the 40 faster at 46 years old than he did when he was at the Combine. If that doesn’t tell you that the Combine is just basically Scouting Bonerfest, I don’t know what will.

Anyway, the UFL is coming up at the end of the month and I am less than mildly interested. I’ll watch but I won’t be really watching. Now, this European League of Football…if I could get that it would be interesting. It looks like if you had MACtion in Germany. I love it. Anyway, everyone have a great week.

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

Posted on August 14, 2023 by guelphbossman

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

Posted on May 10, 2023 by guelphbossman

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.

2022-23 NFL Divisional Playoffs TV Schedule

Posted on January 20, 2023 by guelphbossman

Wasn’t that a fun Wild Card round? Well, most of the games were at least. That last one though…woo what a stinker. I wonder if Tom Brady has packed up his shit and moved to Vegas yet.

Without further adieu, and to make this quick, let’s get right to this weekend’s schedule, followed by a few notes:

Saturday

Jacksonville at Kansas City	4:30	NBC, CTV
NY Giants at Philadelphia	8:00	FOX, CTV

Sunday

Cincinnati at Buffalo	3:00	CBS, CTV
Dallas at San Francisco	6:30	FOX, CTV

Notes

CTV gets all four Divisional Round games this season. This is the fifth year in a row this has happened and I can’t see that changing anytime soon.
CBS got jobbed this playoffs! One Wild Card game and now one Divisional Round game. They get the AFC Championship and then that’s it. Three games. I don’t remember the last time FOX or CBS had that few playoff games. That’s because ever since CBS acquired the rights to the AFC broadcasts, it has never happened. It now seems pretty obvious that they had one game taken from them last weekend. Whether it was because of the Monday Night Football incident in Week 17 or part of the new contract, who knows. So I hope you like Jim Nantz and Tony Romo because that is all you get on CBS this playoffs.
The game in Kansas City could get some not-so-nice weather this weekend. There is a potential for rain and it’s barely above freezing. Other than that, we should see decent weather for the other three contests.

See? That was quick. This weekend there is one college football all-star game but it’s on Facebook. So if you want to catch the Tropical Bowl, it’s on at 4:00 on Saturday (if you can find it). The following weekend there are some more college all-star games but I will get them in next week’s post.

We are getting closer and closer to the dark period for football although it won’t be as dark as in years past. The XFL and USFL will be upon us and then the CFL starts up in late May. So at least you can get your football fix that doesn’t involve the NFL or NCAA. Have a great weekend and enjoy the games everyone!

That was some kind of week wasn’t it – the Week 16 NFL TV Schedule

Posted on December 22, 2022 by guelphbossman

This picture might be from the craziest part of one of the crazier weekends in NFL history. Let’s take a quick stroll down (relatively recent) memory lane:

It started with the greatest comeback in NFL history. Minnesota was down 33-0 at halftime to the woeful Indianapolis Colts. This felt like one of the bigger upsets of the season. The Vikings would claw all the way back and beat the Colts in overtime to erase the Buffalo Bills’ Wild Card comeback against the Houston Oilers back in 1993 from the record books. Poor Frank Reich. His comeback record is gone thanks to the team that fired him earlier this season for a guy who had never coached at the pro level. He is not having a good last half of 2022.
The Bills Mafia was getting a bit rowdy during Saturday night’s game between the Bills and the Dolphins. The referee had to stop the game to warn fans not to throw snowballs as if one hit a Dolphins player it would have been a 15-yard penalty. The snow picked up in the second half, the snowballs thrown decreased and the Bills beat the Dolphins in a great affair that clinched them a playoff spot.
Every game in the early Sunday window was a one-possession game. I don’t remember that ever happening. It also provided us with two near-upsets as the Bears and Texans almost pulled off the near-impossible against the Eagles and Chiefs, respectively. We did end up seeing an actual upset as the Jaguars keep their playoff hopes alive by outlasting the Cowboys in a wild shootout. Finally, more clock management buffoonery, this time by Robert Saleh as his not using timeouts in a timely manner probably cost the Jets at least a chance to go to overtime with the Lions.
Tom Brady had been 89-0 when leading by at least 17 points at home. Eighty-nine and oh. Crazy. Now it’s 89-1, though, after Joe Burrow and the Bengals outscored the Bucs 34-6 the rest of the way in yet another come-from-behind victory.
And finally, let’s get to the pic at the start and the worst lateral (if not worst bonehead play) in NFL history. I still don’t quite get what Jakobi Meyers was doing there. When Rhamondre Stevenson lateraled the ball to Meyers, Meyers was a few yards away. Meyers had to heave the ball back to (he hoped) Mac Jones and it didn’t even make it there. Just completely perplexing and an absolute stroke-of-luck at the gong of midnight for the Raiders.

So yeah it was a whole heap of fun to watch it all. I almost needed a smoke afterwards. Now let’s get to the schedule for this week and yeah it looks different than normal thanks to this thing called Christmas. Let’s go!

American Networks


New Orleans at Cleveland	1:00	Cleveland
Buffalo at Chicago	1:00	Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown
Cincinnati at New England	1:00	Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Seattle at Kansas City	1:00		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Boston
NY Giants at Minnesota	1:00		Minneapolis, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Presque Isle
Detroit at Carolina	1:00		Detroit
Washington at San Francisco	4:05	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit
Philadelphia at Dallas	4:25		All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Primetime & Christmas Games!

Jacksonville at NY Jets	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN1/4
Las Vegas at Pittsburgh	Saturday, 8:15, NFL Network, CTV2, TSN1/4
Green Bay at Miami	Sunday, 1:00, FOX, CTV, TSN1/3
Denver at LA Rams	Sunday, 4:30, CBS, CTV, TSN1
Tampa Bay at Arizona	Sunday, 8:15, NBC, CTV, TSN1/3/4/5
LA Chargers at Indianapolis	Monday, 8:15, TSN3

Non Eggnog Stuff

Fuck, I hate eggnog.
So since I can’t seem to figure out the way to indent things properly yet (and I don’t feel like fiddling around with it anymore out of frustration), I will just mention that the games we can’t get in Canada (unless you have the almighty RedZone) are the Texans-Titans and Falcons-Ravens. Unless you are clamoring to see if the Texans can pretty much wrap up the top pick in the draft, or you like bird teams, it doesn’t matter to you.
Christmas being on a Sunday has really messed with the schedule this week. A reminder to you that all the games in the two main sections are on SATURDAY, not Sunday. So don’t get pissed off if you are eating the cookies left out for Santa (you pig) and see that there are highlights of all the games that you missed because you didn’t read this. I’ve warned you.
The NFL is going to mop the damn floor with the NBA on Christmas Day. Guaranteed.
For once, most people actually want to see an Eagles-Cowboys game. Not all, because some people still can’t stand either team or their fanbase and that’s fair. Too bad for them though because damn near everyone gets that game in the late window.
The 4:30 Sunday game is also the Nickolodeon regular season game. It’s going to suck for all the kids watching when there’s no slime because neither team scores a touchdown.

We are getting close to the end of the season. Three weeks to go! Let’s look at what the playoff picture is looking like:

AFC	NFC
#1 Buffalo (leads AFC East/clinched playoff berth)	#1 Philadelphia (leads NFC East/clinched playoff berth)
#2 Kansas City (clinched AFC West)	#2 Minnesota (clinched NFC North)
#3 Cincinnati (leads AFC North)	#3 San Francisco (clinched NFC West)
#4 Tennessee (leads AFC South)	#4 Tampa Bay (leads NFC South)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Baltimore	#5 Dallas (clinched playoff berth)
#6 LA Chargers	#6 NY Giants
#7 Miami	#7 Washington

And here is your list of eliminated teams starting with the, uh, most eliminated I guess:

Houston
Chicago
Denver
LA Rams
Arizona

The Texans can actually already clinch the #1 pick if the lose and the Bears win their game. Not likely but you never know. Now, on the other end of the spectrum, here are the clinching scenarios:

First Round Bye

Philadelphia clinches with a win

Division Title

Philadelphia clinches the NFC East with a win
Buffalo clinches the AFC East with a win OR a Miami loss

Playoff Berth

NY Giants clinch with (a win AND a Washington loss AND a Detroit loss) OR (a win AND a Washington loss AND a Seattle loss) OR (a win AND a Detroit loss AND a Seattle loss)
Cincinnati clinches with a win OR a NY Jets loss
Baltimore clinches with (a win AND a New England loss AND a NY Jets loss) OR (a win AND a New England loss AND a Miami loss) OR (a win AND a NY Jets loss AND a Miami loss) OR (a NY Jets loss AND a New England loss AND a Cleveland loss AND a Las Vegas loss AND a LA Chargers win AND a Tennessee loss)
LA Chargers clinch with a win AND a Las Vegas loss AND a NY Jets loss AND a New England loss

Elimination

New Orleans is eliminated with a loss AND a Tampa Bay win
Atlanta is eliminated with (a loss AND a Tampa Bay win) OR (a loss AND a Carolina win AND a New Orleans win)
Green Bay is eliminated with a loss AND a Washington win
Indianapolis is eliminated with a loss OR a Tennessee win OR a Jacksonville win
NY Jets are eliminated with a loss AND a LA Chargers win AND a Miami win AND a New England win AND (a Baltimore win OR a Cleveland loss)
Pittsburgh is eliminated with a loss OR (a LA Chargers win AND a Miami win) OR (a LA Chargers win AND a New England win AND a NY Jets win)
Cleveland is eliminated with a loss OR (a Baltimore win AND a LA Chargers win AND a Miami win) OR (a Baltimore win AND a LA Chargers win AND a New England win AND a NY Jets win)
Las Vegas is eliminated with a loss AND a LA Chargers win AND (a Miami win OR a NY Jets win OR a New England win)

So a lot of things can happen over the next few days but there’s still a lot of intrigue that will be left for the final two weeks no matter what. One thing that might not happen: a team in the NFC South having a winning record.

Alright, there you go. Enjoy the games (both NFL and bowl) everyone!

Truly Irrelevant? I think not! The Week 15 NFL TV Schedule

Posted on December 15, 2022 by guelphbossman

Does this guy look irrelevant to you? OK, don’t answer that. Let’s not be mean here but yeah he looks pretty bland. Like plain oatmeal. This guy, Brock Purdy, was the final pick of the previous year’s draft. Which gives him the title of Mr. Irrelevant. A kind of backhanded compliment if you will and a tradition started back in 1976 and has become quite a big thing nowadays.

Most of the men picked with the final pick of the draft don’t amount to much in the NFL. I’d say the most prominent Mr. Irrelevant is Ryan Succop who is now in his 14th season in the league. That might change, though. Purdy, now the starter for the San Francisco 49ers because of season-ending injuries to both Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo, had his first start at quarterback this past weekend. All he did was go 16-21, passing for 185 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Oh, and he beat Tom Brady. Yeah. Pretty good start to a career wouldn’t you say? And now, he is at the helm of the Niners until at least the end of the regular season and San Fran, chances are, will be the NFC West champions so Purdy could play a huge role as to how far this team goes. Just goes to show you that sometimes it doesn’t matter where you’re drafted as long as you get an opportunity. Just ask Brady.

Schedule time! We have an extra day of games this week so let’s get to it.

American Networks


Kansas City at Houston	1:00	Seattle, Spokane
Detroit at NY Jets	1:00	Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Pittsburgh at Carolina	1:00	Cleveland
Dallas at Jacksonville	1:00		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown
Philadelphia at Chicago	1:00		Minneapolis
New England at Las Vegas	4:05		Detroit, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay	4:25	All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Primetime and Saturday Games

San Francisco at Seattle	Thursday, 8:15, Amazon Prime, FOX Seattle, CTV2, TSN1/5
Indianapolis at Minnesota	Saturday, 1:00, NFL Network, ABC Minneapolis, TSN1/3/4
Baltimore at Cleveland	Saturday, 4:30, NFL Network, TSN1/3/4
Miami at Buffalo	Saturday, 8:15, NFL Network, ABC Buffalo, TSN3/4
NY Giants at Washington	8:15, NBC, CTV2, TSN1/5
LA Rams at Green Bay	Monday, 8:15, ABC, CTV2, TSN1/3

Actually Relevant Things

Remember when cross-flexing was this huge ordeal that many had an issue with? Now we see it (sometimes) and don’t give a shit anymore. This is good. It should be a non-story and it has now become that.
- Games not being shown in Canada (unless you have the almighty Redzone and yes I’m sorry for not putting this in the notes last week):
  - Atlanta at New Orleans
  - Arizona at Denver
  - Hey we have Saturday NFL football this weekend! And it’s going up against a bunch of bowl games so I know where my main interest will lie. Also, that’s why I have two screens.
  - Now remember when Thursday Night Football ended before Christmas? Yeah that’s not the case anymore. Kind of wish Monday Night Football would ended before Christmas. The games, as a whole, in this timeslot have been underwhelming, to be nice.
  - Did you want more Tom Brady because you ARE GETTING MORE TOM BRADY WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT GOD DAMMIT! Honestly, I’m also getting sick with the full national Brady broadcasts. Almost like FOX is giving him a handy so he will stick to the idea of being a FOX game analyst when his playing days are over.

Hey now let’s update the playoff picture as teams are starting to clinch playoff spots:

AFC	NFC
#1 Buffalo (leads AFC East)	#1 Philadelphia (leads NFC East/clinched playoff berth)
#2 Kansas City (leads AFC West)	#2 Minnesota (leads NFC North)
#3 Baltimore (leads AFC North)	#3 San Francisco (leads NFC West)
#4 Tennessee (leads AFC South)	#4 Tampa Bay (leads NFC South)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Cincinnati	#5 Dallas
#6 Miami	#6 Washington
#7 New England/LA Chargers/NY Jets	#7 NY Giants

Also going to toss you a short elimination list while I’m at it:

Houston
Denver
Chicago

I told you it would be short. Only three teams eliminated with four weeks to go. So a lot of teams still in the mix although one loss for many could end their season. Now to the scenarios, both for clinching and eliminating.

Division Title

Minnesota clinches the NFC North with a win OR a Detroit loss
San Francisco clinches the NFC West with a win
Kansas City clinches the AFC West with a win OR a LA Chargers loss

Playoff Berth

Dallas clinches with a win OR (a Seattle loss AND a Washington loss) OR (a Seattle loss AND a Detroit loss)
Buffalo clinches with a win

Elimination

New Orleans is eliminated with (a loss AND a Tampa Bay win) OR (a loss AND a Carolina win)
Arizona is eliminated with a loss OR (a Seattle win AND a NY Giants win) OR (a Seattle win AND a Washington win)
LA Rams are eliminated with a loss OR (a Seattle win AND a NY Giants win) OR (a Seattle win AND a Washington win)
Indianapolis is eliminated with (a loss AND a Tennessee win AND a NY Jets win) OR (a loss AND a Tennessee win AND a New England win)
Pittsburgh is eliminated with (a loss AND a New England win) OR (a loss AND a NY Jets win AND a LA Chargers win)
Cleveland is eliminated with (a loss AND a LA Chargers win) OR (a loss AND a NY Jets win) OR (a loss and a New England win)
Las Vegas is eliminated with (a loss AND a Miami win) OR (a loss AND a NY Jets win)

Man that is a lot of elimination possibilities for one week. Imagine if they all happen? The NFL hopes not. The NFL (and myself) hope as many teams as possible are still technically alive for playoff spots going into the final Sunday. If you’ve watched a final week of the NFL regular season when multiple playoff spots and/or division titles are on the line then you know how exciting can be even if it involves a team you are a not a fan of. Anyway, enjoy the NFL games (and college games too!) this weekend everyone!

Even Success Won’t Save You (the NFL Week 14 TV Schedule)

Posted on December 8, 2022 by guelphbossman

Do you know who this is? Some will. If you don’t, it’s Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson. Sorry…FORMER Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson. I get that you might not recognize him because most NFL general managers are unrecognizable other than Dallas’ GM.

It’s very interesting timing for this shitcanning since the Titans are doing relatively well and should win the AFC South in a cakewalk. But that isn’t enough for this franchise and a few of his past moves looked terrible and one in particular came back to haunt him. His draft day trade of AJ Brown to Philadelphia looked bad at the time and looks like one of the worst trades of the last decade now, especially after Brown torched the Titans for two touchdowns in the Eagles’ destruction of Tennessee this past week. That’s not the only reason for him being let go but I’m sure it was the straw that broke the camel’s back so to speak.

So there you go: if you are a GM you better do well and continue to do well and not have any moves seriously backfire like that. If you’re a coach, no problem. You’ll get second and even third chances depending on the circumstances (i.e. Did you coach under Bill Belichick? Hot damn, here’s a big contract despite the fact you are an abject disaster as a head coach.). OK, schedule time.

American Networks


NY Jets at Buffalo	1:00	Seattle, Spokane, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Cleveland at Cincinnati	1:00	Cleveland
Philadelphia at NY Giants	1:00		All affiliates (except Minneapolis & Detroit)
Minnesota at Detroit	1:00		Minneapolis, Detroit
Kansas City at Denver	4:05	Minneapolis, Detroit
Carolina at Seattle	4:25	Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane
Tampa Bay at San Francisco	4:25		Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle

Canadian Networks

Primetime Games

Las Vegas at LA Rams	Thursday, 8:20, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN1
Miami at LA Chargers	8:15, NBC, CTV2, TSN1/4/5
New England at Arizona	Monday, 8:15, CBS Boston, TSN1/3/4

The Briefing

Let’s start with the game that was flexed into the Sunday Night Football spot. This game is massive for playoff seeding and what will happen going forward in the AFC East and AFC West. The Chargers are being flexed into SNF for the second time this season so, despite their record, the NFL thinks they are a good team. This was a great idea since the original SNF matchup, the Chiefs and the Broncos, would probably have been awful.
You will notice that the MNF matchup also allows people who get their CBS affiliate out of Boston to watch this game.
The NFL has to hope that the Thursday nighter is close because this looks awful on paper. The dysfucntional Raiders against a team who has lost a ton of players to injuries in the Rams. I’ll watch it because nothing else is on but man, that’s rough (and reminiscent of Thursday Night Football back around the time it started).
The Jets and Bills were the other possibility to be flexed to become the Sunday nighter. Instead they are the big early game and are being shown damn near everywhere. Which is impressive since the early schedule is not a bad one in the least.
Unfortunately, the late schedule is a different story. Again the majority of the country is getting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A mediocre team playing in a shitty division that the networks fucking slobber over. Well, they slobber over Tom Brady but you get the idea.

Alright let’s take a quick look at the playoff picture.

AFC	NFC
#1 Buffalo (AFC East)	#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Kansas City (AFC West)	#2 Minnesota (NFC North)
#3 Baltimore (AFC North)	#3 San Francisco (NFC West)
#4 Tennessee (AFC South)	#4 Tampa Bay (NFC South)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 Cincinnati	#5 Dallas
#6 Miami	#6 NY Giants
#7 NY Jets	#7 Seattle

We finally have two teams eliminated from playoff contention in the Texans and Bears. Along with the Broncos and Rams (uh, I mean Lions), they will all be competing, in essence, for the #1 pick in next year’s draft. Houston currently has a 1.5 game lead over Chicago with four weeks to go. Three more teams could be officially eliminated but having only five teams eliminated with four weeks to go seems like a low amount to me.

At the opposite end, you have a few teams who could punch tickets this weekend. The Chiefs clinch the AFC West with a win and a Chargers loss. This is shocking since I, along with many others, thought the AFC West would be one of the most competitive divisions in the league. Doesn’t help that the Raiders have a terrible head coach, the Broncos let Russ cook (fish in the microwave) and the Chargers are just, well, average. In the NFC, the Eagles and Vikings clinch playoff berths with wins. That will be the big storyline going down to the end, at least at the top of the NFC, is who will get that singular first round bye.

Ugh, I have to put up the Christmas tree. I hate doing it. Let’s just say there’s history from a long time ago that makes me hate the process. December just brings a lot of stress into many of our lives, mine included, so watching football is a great escape. I just have to make sure I use the rest of my time in a constructive manner. Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games everyone!

This isn’t good (the Week 10 NFL TV Schedule)

Posted on November 10, 2022 by guelphbossman

Just watching that pic makes me cringe a bit. It seems like MVP favourite Josh Allen has an issue with his UCL again. He sprained it four years ago in his right elbow and it seems to have come up again. You could tell on one throw near the end of the game vs. the Jets. He shook his arm and then was looking at his elbow. It’s a thing that happens with many baseball pitchers that, a lot of times, leads to Tommy John surgery. Right now, it’s just a sprain so that’s the good thing. But to have it sprained twice in four years is not a good sign. Honestly, I’m surprised more quarterbacks haven’t had this issue in the past.

As a fan of the Buffalo Bills, I was hopeful when this season started. I always worry when stuff like this happens because it could derail what has been, so far, a really good season for the team. It shows that some teams’ hopes are pinned on one or two players and to lose that player(s) would be disastrous and take a team that’s expected to make waves to a team that will struggle.

Oh well, time to stop worrying about Josh Allen and start thinking about the next week’s NFL TV schedule.

American Networks


Denver at Tennessee	1:00	Seattle
Jacksonville at Kansas City	1:00	Spokane
Cleveland at Miami	1:00	Cleveland, Boston
Houston at NY Giants	1:00	Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Presque Isle
Minnesota at Buffalo	1:00		All affiliates (except Detroit)
Detroit at Chicago	1:00		Detroit
Indianapolis at Las Vegas	4:05	Minneapolis, Detroit, Buffalo
Dallas at Green Bay	4:25		All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Primetime (and Morning!) Games

Atlanta at Carolina	Thursday, 8:20, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN1/3
Seattle vs. Tampa Bay (in Munich)	9:30 AM, NFL Network, CBS (Seattle), CTV, TSN3
LA Chargers at San Francisco	8:15, NBC, CTV2, TSN1/4/5
Washington at Philadelphia	Monday, 8:15, TSN1/3

Some Random-Ass Analysis and Shit

Imagine seeing the rest of the country get the Vikings and Bills and you are stuck with the Lions and Bears? Even Lions and Bears fans might wince at that. This is what people who get their FOX affiliate out of Detroit will see this week. And this is one week after getting no early game on CBS because of a Lions-enforced blackout. Yuck.
Games not being shown in Canada (unless you have the almighty RedZone):
- New Orleans at Pittsburgh
I guess I should have said game not being shown. It helps that there is a morning game and a few teams on byes but still, that’s impressive. It’s honestly odd to see a Pittsburgh home game not being shown anywhere in Canada but that’s the case this weekend.
Again, it’s only TSN2 during the day because the CFL Division finals are on. Next week is the Grey Cup but then after that TSN should end up putting more games on their channels. We shall see.

Hey let’s look at the updated playoff picture!

AFC	NFC
#1 Buffalo (AFC East)	#1 Philadelphia (NFC East)
#2 Kansas City (AFC West)	#2 Minnesota (NFC North)
#3 Baltimore (AFC North)	#3 Seattle (NFC West)
#4 Tennessee (AFC South)	#4 Tampa Bay (NFC South)
Wild Cards:	Wild Cards:
#5 NY Jets	#5 Dallas
#6 Miami	#6 NY Giants
#7 LA Chargers	#7 San Francisco

We are right at the halfway mark of the season so the playoff picture becomes a tiny bit clearer every week. Philly is still the Super Bowl favourite although there are a few teams nipping on their heels. Realistically, the only not-so-good division leader is the Bucs and with Tom Brady at the helm, they could easily go on a heater and turn their season around. No is mathematically eliminated as of yet but let’s be real: the Texans, Panthers, Steelers, Raiders and Lions have no shot at the playoffs unless they go on an all-timer of a win streak.

OK the weather is slowly turning. Sure we are still having those odd near-20 degree days (at least here in southern Ontario) but they are becoming fewer and far between. It’s truly Autumn now. The leaves are changing colours and then just giving up. We have to scrape frost of the windows of our cars. It’s getting cold. So sit inside, enjoy a warm beverage and watch some NFL. What could be better than that? Enjoy the games everyone!

Is it Splitsville time? The Week 5 NFL TV Schedule

Posted on October 6, 2022 by guelphbossman

Could it be? Could the NFL’s power couple be heading to divorce? It kind of seems that way. Gisele Bundchen is probably sick of Tom Brady just wanting to always come back for one more season. We get it, Tom, you said you would play until you were 50 and it seems like you will get your wish. Thing is, you might not have a wife to share that with. I don’t even know if he cares.

Also, don’t these two seem like the type that would argue over everything? Like they would bicker over silverware, who gets which coffee table, how to divvy up the rags, and so on. I remember when I separated from my wife, it was pretty damn easy. Helps when you don’t have nearly as much to split but still, it was a pretty painless process. Then again, I didn’t hold a grudge and want to take my revenge out on her during divorce proceedings. Sounds like a lot of couples do. Guess we were just weird. Oh well.

Anyway, Gisele, if you’re reading this, call me. I offer nothing except pleasure…maybe a few times a month. And I am a pretty good cook although maybe not as good as the chef you have on your staff. Hell, if you ask me to shave, I’ll do it. I won’t argue that I like my beard and want to keep it. Teamwork makes the dream work or something like that.

Alright enough of that nonsense. Time for schedules…hot, nasty NFL schedules.

American Networks


LA Chargers at Cleveland	1:00	Cleveland
Pittsburgh at Buffalo	1:00	Buffalo, Rochester, Watertown, Burlington, Presque Isle
Seattle at New Orleans	1:00		Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane
Chicago at Minnesota	1:00		Minneapolis
Detroit at New England	1:00		Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester, Burlington, Boston, Presque Isle
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	1:00		Watertown
San Francisco at Carolina	4:05	Seattle, Spokane, Minneapolis, Detroit, Boston
Dallas at LA Rams	4:25		All affiliates

Canadian Networks

Primetime (and Morning!) Games

Indianapolis at Denver	Thursday, 8:20, Amazon Prime, CTV2, TSN1/3/4/5
NY Giants vs. Green Bay (in London)	9:30 AM, NFL Network, CTV, TSN4
Cincinnati at Baltimore	8:15, NBC, CTV2, TSN1/3/4/5
Las Vegas at Kansas City	Monday, 8:15, TSN1/3

Loving Schedule Notes

Ugh, another morning London game. Sorry Giants and Packers: I may watch like a quarter-and-a-half of that, at most.
No ManningCast this week. I will say, though, that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have been pretty good so far this season. And I am not a fan of Buck doing football. So that’s pretty heady praise if you ask me.
Games not being shown here in Canada (unless you have RedZone):
- Miami at NY Jets
- Tennessee at Washington
- Houston at Jacksonville
- Philadelphia at Arizona
Everyone gets the Cowboys-Rams game in the late window. I do find it kind of amusing that Cooper Rush, of all people, is leading the Cowboys to a 3-1 record so far.
I remember I used to feel sorry for people who got their FOX and CBS affiliates out of Burlington, Vermont. Watertown, New York might be even worse. They are getting some seriously shitty games. Falcons-Bucs? Woof. Although it could be much worse. They could have got the Texans-Jags game instead. So I guess count your blessings.

Hey it’s been good so far, let’s keep this party going! Have a good weekend and enjoy the games everyone!

Hey, what happened in the NFL offseason? Probably nothing.

Posted on August 29, 2022 by guelphbossman

Oh wait, it’s the NFL…all sorts of shit happens in the offseason. It’s a year-long drama with this league. Even soap operas look at some of this stuff and say “that’s unrealistic.”

Deshaun Watson, the Cleveland Browns’ starting quarterback (and I use that term this season loosely) will be suspended for the first eleven games of the 2022 NFL season because of his issue with masseuses. Big issues. Bad issues. “If they’re true” some will say. I don’t remember players in football getting suspended for more than half a season for something they didn’t do.

Tom Brady decided to retire then got pissy because Adam Schefter broke the news too early I guess. So he unretired. There’s more to it but still, I am 99.9% sure that’s part of it.

Sean Payton is no longer the coach of the New Orleans Saints. You watch that movie about him going to coach his son’s team while he was suspended for a year? He was played by Kevin James. It was not good.

Brian Flores sued the NFL for racial discrimination. It will be interesting to see where this goes as it’s not a good look for the league. Now if he sued Dolphins owner Stephen Ross for being a complete shitbag, then he’d win no problem.

Aaron Rodgers again played coy and acted like he’d leave the Green Bay Packers. He didn’t although he very well could have and made a lot of many elsewhere. A-A-Ron also knows that Matt LaFleur will put up with his bullshit for another season so that helps.

Receivers now making crazy money, Russell Wilson out of Seattle, Baker Mayfield out of Cleveland (and no more commercials from that stadium I assume), Matt Ryan ending up in Indy, Washington getting a new team name and still being a gongshow of an organization, the playoff overtime format changing (thankfully) and many other things happened as well. So yeah…calm.

OK enough of all that because we are almost ready for the NFL season! September 8th, the Bills travel to Los Angeles to face the Rams to start the new season. I am very much looking forward to this and you might see why from the upcoming predictions. Let’s get right to them (as per usual, an * means that team was able to snag a Wild Card spot…good for them):

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

Notes on those standings predictions:

Yep, I have the Buffalo Bills as the only 13-win team in the league. I know that probably won’t happen. They may win 14!
The NFC will be a bit clogged at the top with three teams trying to get the only first round bye. I have the Bucs getting that first round bye thanks to a complicated set of tiebreakers that ends with a game of dizzy bat.
I foresee quite a few close division races with the AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, and NFC East all ending up tied at the end of the season. Not having a home playoff game can be seriously rough so feel bad for the Bengals, Titans, Chargers, and Cowboys if you feel like it.
As it normally is, the Wild Card races should be fun. I have the Titans and Bengals being one game up on the Patriots, Dolphins, Raiders, and Broncos to nab the final two spots. In the NFC, the Vikings and Niners do just enough to stay ahead of the Cardinals to make the playoffs.
The race to the bottom pits Houston against Atlanta, although the Jags, Giants and Seahawks will try their best to dive to bottom of the NFL ocean. I have the Falcons “winning” the #1 pick for next year’s draft and the chance to, at this point, bring in Bryce Young as their franchise quarterback.
I think Josh Allen beats out a bevy of other quarterbacks to win the MVP. Tom Brady, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow will be close but not enough to overtake the man who I believe will take the Bills to the best record in the league.
Rookie of the Year is, as I always say, a complete crapshoot. I will go with the players that I believe will play the most. So I am picking Aidan Hutchinson on the defensive side and Kenny Pickett on the offensive side.
Coach of the Year? Ah, why not, I’m good at getting these predictions wrong, what’s one more? I’ll go with Sean McDermott of the Bills since, other than Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions, I don’t see another team having a big improvement from the previous year.

And now it’s time to go to the playoff predictions. Last year’s were…not good. Let’s hope for better time around.

Wild Card Round

Kansas City (2) def. Tennessee (7)

Cincinnati (6) def. Baltimore (3)

LA Chargers (5) def. Indianapolis (4)

Green Bay (2) def. San Francisco (7)

LA Rams (3) def. Minnesota (6)

Dallas (5) def. Philadelphia (4)

Divisional Round

Buffalo (1) def. Cincinnati (6)

LA Chargers (5) def. Kansas City (2)

Tampa Bay (1) def. Dallas (5)

LA Rams (3) def. Green Bay (2)

Conference Championships

Buffalo (1) def. LA Chargers (5)

LA Rams (3) def. Tampa Bay (1)

Super Bowl

Buffalo (1) def. LA Rams (3)

Yes for the second year in a row I have the Buffalo Bills winning the Super Bowl. I feel better about this year’s prediction than last year’s. Then again, last year I picked Seattle to go to the Super Bowl so it’s a low bar to begin with. At least now if they go to overtime, they know they will get a chance to score.

I hope you enjoyed Week Zero of the college football season. It was…technically college football. I wonder if Scott Frost was left in Ireland. Anyway, soon enough we get back to in the old rotation of things and all will feel right in the world. Have a great week everyone!


Detroit at NY Jets	1:00	Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Atlantic
Kansas City at Houston	1:00		Vancouver Island, Alberta
Dallas at Jacksonville	1:00	Vancouver, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Winnipeg	All affiliates (except Vancouver Island & Alberta)
Philadelphia at Chicago	1:00			TSN1, TSN3
New England at Las Vegas	4:05			TSN1, TSN3
Cincinnati at Tampa Bay	4:25	Vancouver, Alberta, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal	Atlantic
Tennessee at LA Chargers	4:25	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg


Pittsburgh at Buffalo	1:00	Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa	Vancouver Island, Alberta, Atlantic
Detroit at New England	1:00	Saskatchewan, Montreal, Atlantic	London, Toronto, Ottawa
Seattle at New Orleans	1:00	Vancouver, Alberta
Chicago at Minnesota	1:00	Winnipeg
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	1:00	Northern Ontario		TSN3
San Francisco at Carolina	4:05	Vancouver, Alberta		TSN3
Dallas at LA Rams	4:05	Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Northern Ontario, Kitchener, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal	Atlantic