EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday! We have a lot to get to so let’s ditch any further pleasantries and get right to it. 
The menu: NFL Playoffs, Buffalo Fanaticism, NFL Coach Replacements, Mets Lindor Trade
Full Disclosure: I have no interest in focusing on the playoffs but I since I take the ball on Mondays, I’m somewhat obligated to at least fake it. Here are the scores…
AFC
Indianapolis Colts 24- 27 Buffalo Bills
Baltimore Ravens 20-13 Tennessee Titans
Cleveland Browns 48-37 at Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC
Los Angeles Rams 30-20 Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 Washington Football Team
Chicago Bears 9-21 New Orleans Saints
In the AFC... the Bills hung on to beat the Colts… The Ravens won a tough one against the Titans, meaning the AFC south went 0 for 2. The Browns roared out to a 28-0 first quarter and never looked back. The final score doesn’t reflect how lopsided this stunner was, but Cheesy Bruin took Cleveland +6 with weekly picks. Mike Tomlin said the Steelers “withered on the vine.”
In the NFC… the Rams upset the Seahawks, while Tom Brady’s Bucs won a shootout against Washington… Chicago looked anemic on attack and the Saints didn’t choke, so they go the win.
Buffalo Fanaticism
I wanted to talk about this because it got to be a bit much this weekend. The supermarket had empty shelves because people were preparing for the Bills game. Pandemic or not, people were going to gather to watch their Bills. They made a massive outdoor drinking setup downtown to allow people to drink and watch. You had City Hall with the Dance Squad doing videos on the stairs and I just saw a gender reveal video of throwing the reveal baby through the cake – like the fans throw themselves through tables during tailgates… I work in real estate and you can’t do open houses from 1 to 3 if the Bills are playing. I plan my schedule around the team’s. I can’t mow my lawn during the game. I literally started the front yard and had to wait until after the game for the backyard… I have gone into rugby more and my Jets continue to suck, so I try to forget about football… not in Buffalo. Worse, my clients want to talk about them. And I don’t just mean during the season; it’s year round. From off-season acquisitions to the draft and who looked good at the combine. (If you wonder who watches the combine, it’s Bills fans, that’s who.) Then it is preseason, the regular season and it starts all over again.
NFL Coach Replacements
Last week I talked about the Jets coaching replacement options. Let’s take some time to talk about the other five.
Houston: They have a superstar at QB and on defense but the rest of the cast is just not good enough. The have no high draft picks or cap space. I would think they need a retread and someone who can win with a bunch okay underachievers. Instead of “new” they should look for a guy like Marvin Lewis, Jim Caldwell or Rex Ryan (dark horse).
Atlanta: This is another team with an albatross around its neck. QB Matt Ryan’s contract is way too much and hurts their ability to make moves. However Ryan is a decent quarterback with the right coordinator. The Falcons are making a play at Eric Bienemy but I don’t think he would want to take a team with a QB that is not his type of QB. I would say they should look for a good OC and go with Robert Saleh, Raheem Morris or another young DC.
Detroit: This team is in the exact same position as Atlanta with a worse defense. I think these guys need a Marvin Lewis or Saleh. They werent great under Jim Caldwell but they were better ant that is why I think Lewis is the right fit.
Jaguars: This team will take Trevor Lawrence as the #1 Pick and they will sign Urban Meyer. The owner has loads of money and needs to make a big splash with a team that consistently underachievers. Meyer and Lawrence automatically gets the fans showing up again (post Covid).
Chargers: This is another possible landing spot for Meyer as they have a top young quarterback in Justin Herbert. The out of the blue talk that I heard is Justin Garrett is a possibility. That would be nonsense. I actually think Bienemy makes a good fit here. It is inside the division, so that is tough but the Chargers have an attack that when healthy he could really get purring and an defense with a few players on the verge of breakout seasons. I say Bienemy, Salah or Morris, young and 1st time coaches.
NY Mets Lindor Trade
The Mets trade for Lindor and Carassaco was a big deal. It made everyone automatically sit up and notice. I was in a Mets Facebook group and I immediately said, watch Lindor melt (not a chocolate joke) under the bright lights of NY and the 4 young players the Mets gave up, 1 will become a perennial all-star while the other has a solid few seasons and wins a batting title or two. Someone told me, I spent too long as a Mets fan and maybe they are right. As Short Matt put it, being a Mets fan is an abusive relationship. You keep hoping it gets better. They give you hope just before they break your heart, though, and I can’t help but feel this will be another one of those trades and seasons for the Mets.
Thanks for reading, comment below and come back tomorrow for Ben Whitney, he will be your Tuesday morning quarterback on the NFL Playoff games.
