Sports Rain Man: NFL Eye-Catchers, Falcons v Jets, CFB Playoffs

NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Happy Monday! The good news (that you’ve all been waiting for – is that it looks like I won my Fantasy Football round. However, it appears I am destined for the loser bracket playoffs. I’ve had narrow losses because absurd bad luck was the difference as I lost 2-3 winnable games….  As for today’s topics, they are: NFL Eye-Catchers, Falcons v Jets, CFB Playoffs

NFL Eye-Catchers (Pretenders vs Contenders)

1) The Carolina Panthers firing Frank Third” Reich after 11 games makes them the new Raiders. Their owner is the new Al Davis, as per involvement as an owner. Panthers owner David Teppier has fired his last three coaches in the middle of the season. This will make the position tough to fill because though there are people who want to move from coordinator to head coach… BUT…  You have to wonder – if this is the right environment or are you being set-up for failure? They have talented young QB in Bryce Young, but the jury is still out whether he is ready to be a franchise guy. After all, he is a rookie. The rest of the roster needs work. There are holes everywhere. hence their 1-11 record.

2) The 49ers beating the Buddy Diaz’s Eagles is not that big a deal. I say that because we have seen Super Bowl rematches and playoff game rematches mean nothing come playoff time. It might feel good for San Fransisco fans who thought QB injuries kept them from the Super Bowl last year. It also shows that the Eagles aren’t solid all the way around. However, playoffs are playoffs and we will see.

3) The fact the Chiefs got upset by the Packers should not surprise anyone. This year’s KC team okay but they have been riding their luck and calls. The Packers are good as long as Jordan Love is having a good day. If he is having a bad day, then anything can happen. The Pack is hitting their stride and the Chiefs ran out of gas. The offense is a handful but they are not headache like they use to be. They don’t have a big-time receiver that requires double coverage and the offensive line gives up loads of sacks.

The Jets defense during this 5-game losing streak has held opposing QBs to under 141 yds in 4 games. Josh Allen is the only one to hit 200+ yards. Middle linebacker and Captain CJ Moseley said “Our standard is our standard; Regardless if the offense scores 45 or 0.” I get that sir, and I respect it, but literally if your offense could get you 17 points a game, you would be 8-4, not 4-8. The window to win titles is small, just ask the Buffalo Bills. The team will have to rebuild the offensive line and make sure they spend money on best backup QB on the market. Even someone like Joe Flacco, who played competently for Cleveland but was let go for some dumb reason. Or maybe a middle round QB draft pick that can be developed. I don’t know what more to add because the Jets held the Falcons to 13 points! 2 field goals and a touchdown on a short field after a turnover. The offense scored two field goals as the defense secured another safety, their 4th of the season. They even got tired of Tim Boyle and brought on Trevor Siemian and they both looked poor.

The CFB Playoff Committee have shown that they have a SEC bias. It is more Alabama bias. I remember when they lost to LSU in the regular season years ago but then were voted in the championship game against LSU, which they won. So they split the season series but won at the right time and are national champions. This time undefeated Florida State, who are 13-0 were told there was no room at the inn. This is why we have super conferences and the Pac 12 is collapsing so California teams are joining a conference with east coast teams. Fans can’t complain about that because the fat cats at the top have decided that records don’t matter. It is about ratings and income and Alabama will bring in more money than FSU. Not to mention the SEC champion is worth more than the ACC Champion. It is essentially a Power 2 of Big 10 and SEC inside the Power 5.

Thanks for reading and come tomorrow to hear from Ben Whitney.