BETHLEHEM, PA – Happy Christmas Eve, loyal MTM readers. All the best to you and yours.
Most people know Jesus Christ could not possibly have been born on December 25th and that date wasn’t proclaimed to be His birthday until over 400 years later. The date was chosen to make the switch over from Paganism easier for the fence sitters, as there was already a feast on that day. I don’t know, I guess I’ll become a Christian. I already have that week off from work. Mistletoe, Holly, Yule Log, Ornaments the Christmas Tree – all pagan. But we keep on celebrating it out of laziness and because that’s the way we’ve always done it. We’re slaves to routine. And we slaves on the MTM assembly line keep churning out content, lured on by the promise of a Christmas party that never comes, but mostly we’re just slaves to the routine. Where am I going with this? I was thinking of maybe trying to tie it in to some kind of “NFL Lies-themed” column. Come on Tiny Tim, let’s give it a shot!
The Giants Should Tank for Chase
It was nutty how the league’s four worst teams played each other and both games went to OT tied at 35. There were draft repercussions aplenty in these two barn-burners and both were a lot more exciting than the mess in Philly. Apparently the defenses got the “Let’s Tank on Sunday!” memo but the offenses did not. Many fans of these bottom-dwelling franchises were hoping their teams would choke in OT. “You’ve made your point, now lose!” But the Giants and Dolphins pulled out OT wins and moved down the draft order list and likely out of contention for prized pass rusher Chase Young. But do a few spots in the draft order really matter much?
In some years, sure. Joey Bosa looks legit. But there have been plenty of top tier players taken outside of the top 10 in the last 5 drafts: Lamar Jackson 32nd, Desean Watson 12th, Dalvin Cook 41st, Darius Leonard 38th, Michael Thomas 47th, Tre’Davious White 27th, Derrick Henry 45th, Aaron Donald 13th, Odell Beckham 12th, Laremy Bong Tunsil 13th, etc. No sense losing on purpose when all you have to do is pick the right guy. Easy peezy.
Jameis is a Franchise QB
Tough call for the Bucs on whether to bring this guy back. He sure can sling it around and is going to hit 5,000 yards passing with at least 31 TDs. But 28 picks is an ugly number. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t have 28 picks in the last five seasons. Someone will think they can fix him if the Bucs let him walk because there are some bad QBs out there and not many free agents can get you three miles passing in a season.
Landon Collins is Worth $84 Million
Collins’ biggest play on Sunday was chucking Jaden Smith down from behind between plays. Smith got the last laugh by burning the former Giant for the game winning TD. Landon’s strength is playing in the box and the RS’s seem to have him play centerfield most of the time. I have a suspicion that franchise doesn’t know what it’s doing. Maybe Gettles was right to let Collins go, but they still should have traded him instead of letting him walk for nothing.
Jason Garrett is a Capable Coach
I wish we could switch the Cowboys and Patriots’ coaching staffs, Freaky Friday style before the season and see how it plays out. Then undo it but show the video to Jason Garrett (future head coach of the Giants) so he can see how badly he stinks. I’d also like to do it with Tom Brady and Dak Prescott. Or Brady and any other QB on a mediocre team. Hell, I’d like to see what the Pats could do with Jameis. It’s probably easier to play QB when you know the other team’s defensive signals though. Just a hunch.
The Giants Reached for Danny Dimes
I know it was the Redsucks, but can I be a little excited about Daniel Jones yet? He threw 5 TD passes on Sunday, which was only one fewer than Elisha Manning had in his entire 9 game rookie season. In one game. With one more TD pass in the last game, Jones will have as many TDs as Eli did in his second season in four fewer games. Sure, the Giants were 11-5 that year and didn’t need to score over 40 points to beat one of the league’s worst teams. Still, it’s worth noting. Let’s see how he can play in the biggest game of his career – the chance to knock the hated Eagles out of the playoffs.
Kenyan Drake is not an Every Down Back
The Patriots have a chance to miss out on a first round bye if they lose to the…. Never mind. They’re playing the Dolphins. And Kenyan Drake is gone.
Speaking of Drake, I reckon the Dolphins are kicking themselves for not featuring him the last two seasons. It totally made sense for them to be giving 47-year old Frank Gore 15 touches a game last year though.
The Super Bowl is Always More Fun if the Patriots are Involved
If the Pats find a way to get into the AFC Championship game, it will be a huge buzzkill. We have to see Mahomes vs Lamar. Goodell, make sure this happens.
The Seahawks are Still Legit
The Seahawks are plummeting and there is talk of a Beastmode reunion after a gaggle of Seahawks RBs went down on Sunday and someone named Travis Homer was getting carries.
#hawttake: Beastmode > Travis Homer
The Saints Won’t Get their Hearts Ripped Out Again
I guess the Saints are still the favorite and get a bye week vs Carolina before their real bye week. Then they sit back and hope Lynch can Beastquake the ‘Hawks to victory over the 49ers in the night game and slide into the top seed. The Niners and Saints look destined for a Championship game showdown somewhere, but they’re both a long way from invincible.
I’m done babbling. Come back for the Redeemer himself, Angry Ward. Follow us on Twitter at @BenWhit8, @MeetTheMatts, @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
