EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – Happy Monday… It was the final regular season game of this new, longer football season. The 17-game slate has finally reached its conclusion and I am glad for it. I can start focusing on other news… With that, let’s get to today’s topics: Bills Ground Jets, Giants Wilt vs Washington, NFL Playoff Picture, Bob Saget & Sidney Poitier.
Bills Gr0und Jets
Way to go, Buffalo! Back-to-back AFC East champs. This probably hasn’t happened since the 4- Super Bowl years, so congrats on that. They finished the season in style, at home versus the Jets. The game was close at the end of the third quarter, 13-10… But you know, it’s the Jets. They were gonna screw it up somehow. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the huddle before the 4th quarter started, the Bills’ coach just said, “Come on, it’s the Jets, a slight nudge and they will meltdown.” The Buffalo defense got a ridiculous 9 sacks, which tells you where the Jets offense was overall. Bills RB Devin Singletary scored twice in the and it looks like he may be finding form at just the right time. Bills WR Stephon Diggs scored a TD while wearing cleats honoring Betty White. For the Jets it was was another game where they played well for 3 quarters despite the 9 sacks. In a coach’s first year the goal is being competitive and finding your guys. Head Coach Robert Saleh arguably made Gang Green competitive for 3 quarters, so now the goal is to cut in half the number of games they lost in the 4th quarter. It could mean the Jets going from 4-13 to 8-9 or 9-8. We can hope as Jets fans.
Giants Wilt vs Washington
The scoreline wasn’t flattering but this was not a horrible Giants performance. In Joe Judge’s final game (we hope), he started Jake Fromm again. Fromm didn’t play horribly but he wasn’t great either, as he completed half of his passes and threw for a touchdown to make it 12-7 in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Washington scored 10 unanswered points and got the win. The offense struggled as the WTF WFT defense stacked the line and shut down Saquon Barkley, daring Fromm to beat them in the air. It was a loss but not as embarrassing a loss as what many Giants fans have come to expect. It is time to clean house, though, and get a new GM, Coach and starting QB.
NFL Playoff Picture
With the season finally finished, it’s time for playoffs. The Tennessee Titans have managed to not only win the division but got the #1 seed in the AFC without Derrick Henry, who will be back in time for their first playoff game. It looks like Mike Vrabel may be the first Belichick disciple to be worth a damn coaching… The #2 Chiefs will host the # 7 Pittsburgh Steelers in game that should go the Chiefs way, but you can never count out the Steelers. Interesting that if not for the shock loss by the Indy Colts against the lowly Jacksonville Jags, Pittsburgh would be out… The aforementioned Bills will host the Patriots in a match that will be their 3rd meeting of the season. It may come down to will, more than schemes… The Bengals made the playoffs for like the third time in 15 years. They will face the Las Vegas Raiders at home, after Brandon Staley called one the worst time-outs in NFL history.
In the NFC Aaron Rodgers (vax or no vax) won the right to a bye and home field advantage all the way, through… The #2 seed will be Tom Brady and Bucs facing Buddy Diaz’s Iggles. This does not look good for the Eagles… The NFC East-winning Cowboys will take on the 49ers, which seems like a prime upset because the Cowboys know how to bottle it in the playoffs… The L.A. Rams will face Arizona, who were in the running to win the division themselves. That match seems set to be an absolute barn-burner.
I just want to add that it is no wonder MLB is trying to find a way to make their playoff system bigger. There are 32 NFL teams and 14 get into the playoffs. I think baseball is at 12 right now and that seems a good number, though I am not opposed to find a way to make it 16.
Final Thoughts on Bob Saget and Sidney Poitier…
Bob Saget: Found this out just before I started typing. I have to say I am shocked, he was so young. 65 is still young. With that, he also was unintentionally two different comedians. He won the role of Danny Tanner, the straight-laced super nice dad on Full House, but his whole stand-up act was incredibly vulgar. You can find video of him doing the Aristocrats joke. It was weird he could never shake the Danny Tanner role. He is just another reminder that my childhood and its icons are fading away.
Sidney Poitier: Speaking of icons… there is not much that can be said about him that hasn’t been said. I just can’t put into words what it meant to a group and in a black family to see this black man, who always looked sharp and carried himself with such confidence, be talked about and seen. My dad couldn’t stop telling me and my brother’s how we should try and be like him. He was a standard bearer. He was a role model. Name something positive – he was it. It’s funny that his classic, In The Heat of The Night, is still relevant today.
Thanks for reading, comment below and come back tomorrow for our Big Ben Whitney, who will probably talk pucks over pigskin.
