STAMFORD, CT – We asked 100 sports fans and the top three answers are on the board: What sports drama is on your mind?
Esperanza: I’ll go with the Alabama vs Georgia Championship game, Richard.
Richard: Hey, that’s the number one answer.
Ishmael: Next I’ll take the Australian Open and the situation in Melbourne with Djokovic.
Richard: Yes, that’s on the board too.
Evangeline: How about the Chargers’ time out in Las Vegas in OT?
[Ding, ding, ding].
Richard: Let’s play The Feud.
Big Win for the Bulldogs
I know they lost, but I’m definitely a little tired of seeing Alabama in the title game. Why do all the best recruits go there year after year? I’m not one for punishing success, but the country could use a little parity. Maybe the cash will help.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said something like “There’s gonna be some property torn up in Indianapolis tonight.” [Screech, record skip]. It’s not ever year you see a championship coach openly rooting for the destruction of the town they’re in. Let’s burn this mother down, kids.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a championship winning player in anyone sport crying like Georgia QB Stetson Bennett IV. My man was sobbing like my daughters at clean up time. It’s hard to root for a guy with that name as it is. In fact, anytime there is roman numerals on a guy’s jersey, I feel like it’s safe to assume he’s a jerk.
Djokovich Drama Down Under
What a clusterf*ck with Novak Djokovic in Australia. Obviously, if they didn’t want him there they would have told him not to get on the plane. Nothing to see here but a transparent, embarrassing political stunt. I sure hope 2022 turns out to be less of a crappy dystopian horror flick. The man has a medical exemption from two different medical boards and he had COVID. In the words of the judge that just reinstated his visa: “The point I’m slightly agitated about is what else could this guy have done? It’s all so stupid and unnecessary.
I hope they’re forced to let the man play and I hope he crushes everyone, especially that whiny little chump Nadal. #FreeDjokovic
Revisiting a Controversial Time Out in an Insane Game
Everyone’s take on the time out called at the end of the amazing Raiders Chargers game was that it was not as dumb as splitting 10s in Blackjack. But on second thought, I’m not so sure. Stay with me.
The Raiders had a third and four on the Chargers 39. The clock was running and they needed to snap it before the clock hit 34 seconds. The Raiders lined up in shotgun and were NOT taking a knee there. If they didn’t get the first down, they would have been looking at around a 54-56 yard FG. Surely Carlson could have hit that, but it’s risky when you only need a tie to go to the playoffs.
The Chargers called a time out with 38 seconds left and four seconds left on the play clock. I’ll admit, it seemed dumb at the time, as the Raiders didn’t seem to be operating with much urgency. But after the time out, they gave it to Jacobs out of the gun, he barrelled 10 yards for the first down, and moved them close enough to be comfortable to kicking the FG to win. The Steelers dodged a bullet.
Now let’s break it down: The Raiders were going to run a play before the time out, almost definitely a run to Jacobs and probably the same play they did end up running. Who says the same thing wouldn’t have happened without the time out? If Brandon Staley thought they didn’t have their best run defense out there, then the time out made sense. No? If they stopped Jacobs on that play, then we’re not having this conversation and they’re in the playoffs.
One might argue that it was an execution problem, not a bad time out. I think the guy deserves more criticism for going for it on a 4th and one on his own 18 in the third quarter in a 3-point game, than that time out. He also blew the Chiefs game by going for too many fourth downs.
Supposedly the Raiders “changed their mindset” after the TO. But what does that mean? If Jacobs got the same ten yards without the time out, would the Raiders have let the clock run out and not kicked the field goal? I highly doubt it. We really would have had some interesting drama had Jacobs only gained a yard or two and they had a fourth down and a fifty plus yard FG to contemplate. That might’ve ended poorly for Pittsburgh.
Well, that went on longer than intended. Come back tomorrow for a guy who has been here a bit longer than intended, Angry Ward. Follow us on Twitter at @benwhit, @MeetTheMatts, @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
