GEORGE: 17 NFL Thoughts From Divisional Weekend:
NFL Divisional Weekend: Stidham's Surprise Start, Rams' Playoff Momentum, and Key Takeaways
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Some Random Thoughts from this Divisional Weekend:
1) Okay, just to clear the air on a rather key issue for next week.
I never, ever, hope and wish for key players getting hurt, which gives a sizeable advantage to a Boston area sports team. Beating Bo Nix and the Broncos in Denver would have been one of the greatest accomplishments during this great 21st century renaissance. Beating Jarrett Stidham and the Broncos in Denver will only do more to scold the Patriots as “the benefactors of one of the easiest schedules in NFL history”.
That said, the Broncos reported this week that they intend to try to activate running back J.K. Dobbins for Sunday. He is recovering from a foot injury, which they thought was season-ending. If Dobbins (another one of those terrific Ohio State Buckeyes I used to see run through Michigan like a knife through butter) can play, and if he is near 100%, then easy does it on the Stidham criticisms.
2) Not that Boston teams haven’t been on the other side of this injury bug. Jim Rice suffered a broken wrist in September and missed the 1975 World Series. The year before, the Red Sox had a great season going in 1974 until Carlton Fisk got bowled over by Cleveland’s Leron Lee, and Fisk missed the rest of the season. He would perhaps have helped the Sox fend off the September Swoon they suffered that year. The 1978 Patriots were favored to go to the Super Bowl, but Darryl Stingley’s paralysis curtailed (in part) the success of that year’s team. The 1973 Celtics could not win the East Finals with John Havlicek’s shooting hand made useless by a shoulder injury.
3) I say the Patriots prepare as if they are facing John Elway. They are 5-point favorites, good Lord. Mike Vrabel will work these guys for sure, but I also say get to Denver early and get used to that thin air.
4) Geek of the week: This is a tough one. Facing fourth and 18 at their own 19, DeMeco Ryans had his team punt with about three minutes left in the game. That’s called waving the white flag. Both Joe Buck and Troy Aikman of ESPN were all over it. Yes, it’s a tough first down to convert, but it is possible. Your season is on the line. By punting, Ryans more or less gave up the ghost. I don’t think the players liked it. Especially those who thought that, finally, the Texans had figured out how to win road playoff games.
5) I took the Rams on Sunday. This was largely because I knew in the pit of my stomach that somehow, someway, the Bears would find a way to lose this game. And they did.
6) Give the Bears credit for being an improved team. But they’re not there yet. Their head coach, Ben Johnson, was incredibly lacking in maturity and common sense when he videoed himself cussing out the Packers last week, then putting the video on social media. Head coaches simply don’t do that.
7) When Sam Wyche was asked to stop Cincinnati fans from throwing snowballs on the field, he concluded his G-rated rant with this: “You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!!!” Nice and clean and to the point. Bengals Nation got the message. This is how you have fun with the hated rivals and not demean yourself by sinking to the other team’s level.
8) Right now, the Rams have to be feeling great. They still have to hit the road, but now they head for Seattle. The Seahawks have a great defense (actually, all four remaining teams do), and they will be at home.
But I don’t know. Sam Darnold may still see ghosts if put in the right environment to do so. Mike Macdonald might run Marshawn Lynch from the one-yard line, but would you bet money on him not trying to hit Ricardo Lockette on a quick in-cut? Which Seattle defensive back will grab Melissa Stark (Erin Andrews won’t be there, she works for Fox) and turn into this raving lunatic on national television?
Meanwhile, the Rams have Sean McVay, the presumptive NFL MVP runner-up (wishful thinking here), Matt Stafford, the best wideout tandem in the NFL in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and a defense that can also wreak havoc on the Seahawks’ offense.
And you have a Rams team that is totally unafraid of the 12th man.
This game will likely go down to the final possession in the fourth quarter. The Rams will find a way to win and hop a motor coach bus up US 101 to Santa Clara.
You know, having the game in Seattle versus SoFi Stadium is perhaps a push. Every time you see a game at SoFi, it’s still a plurality of visiting fans in the NFL-indifferent city of Los Angeles (and suburbs like Inglewood).
9) Back to school: National champ Indiana is not formerly the worst ever Division I college football team. In addition to Michigan, I hold a degree from UMass. Minuteman fans know the epicenter of biblically bad football.
10) Now, if we are already on to next year, do two things first: Eliminate the conference title games and eliminate the automatic bids. Do that before you agree on how many teams to invite to the show. I still would love to be a fly on the wall in the Notre Dame president’s office if the subject of The U comes up. And if I were that fly, I would land on the president’s neck and whisper in his ear, “Shut up and find a conference for your football team! This independent jazz doesn’t play anymore!”
11) Sometime in the 1990s, former Globe sportswriter Ron Borges put in his byline “Football Hades, Colorado” instead of Denver. This was during either the Bill Parcells era or the Pete Carroll era. Didn’t matter.
12) Until Josh Allen started really looking like Superman following the win over the Patriots at Gillette Stadium late in the season, this was the one playoff scenario the Patriots wanted to avoid. Having to play in Denver. But with Allen looking invincible, it gave us a choice among two scenarios, and as we said, neither was good.
13) So, the Broncos took care of one scenario, sending Buffalo home with a 33-30 overtime win. This meant that the Patriots would go to Denver if they beat Houston.
They beat Houston. And then they got some stunning news from Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Bo Nix broke his ankle late in the Denver win over Buffalo. He will undergo surgery on Wednesday. Out for the playoffs.
And then another surprise, this one possibly a party-starter in New England.
Jarrett Stidham will start Sunday in place of Nix.
I started yelling at my daughter to check her phone. Yep, she got the same notification.
14) Wow. Denver went from being a one-point favorite to being a five-point home dog. Patriots minus 5 in Denver?! Share some of that smoke.
Nope, it’s true. The Patriots are favored to be playing in Super Bowl LX. Oh, brother. And this not to be believed year continues. Wake up Joe Castigilione again.
15) Remember Him I: Tim Tebow is a good man. And I am grateful that he had his day in the sun with Denver. He is deeply religious, he is counseling Heisman Trophy Winner/National Champ Fernando Mendoza in how best to incorporate being faithful to the Lord and faithful to your football team. By the time Tebow became a Patriot (briefly), his ability to throw at the NFL level completely disappeared. You see a lot of players openly praying on the field before and after games. When players are interviewed after a game, they will more often than not mention their Almighty and give thanks to Him. The older you get, the more you learn about and lean on your faith. Tebow is helping to spread the Word at a younger age. It is too bad that there are those people out there who mock him for proclaiming his Christianity. Whether you believe or not, it is everyone’s free choice, and Tebow makes no bones about his choice.
16) Remember Him II: Seeing Derek Stingley Jr. come to Foxborough this weekend was special. And it’s real special to those of us who saw his grandpa play in the 1970s at Schaefer Stadium. Darryl Stingley was a 1973 first round draft pick out of Purdue. Along with Stanley Morgan and Harold Jackson, he was part of a terrific trio of wideouts for the Patriots in 1978. But on August 12, out at the Oakland Coliseum, Stingley was hit trying to catch a pass in midair by Jack Tatum. Stingley became a quadriplegic and never played again. Tatum was vilified for never apologizing and wrote a book about the incident. Both men have since passed away. Darryl Stingley remains one of the most beloved Patriots in team history. And his grandson Derek carries on the family tradition with honor and pride.
17) Okay, so how will the game turn out?
Drake Maye cannot turn the ball over. Period.
Mack Hollins comes back. Let him play barefoot if he wants. In any case, that helps the receiver corps.
Josh McDaniels needs to come up with an offensive game plan that Maye can work with. The Broncos still have a terrific defense, but so did both the Chargers and Texans. No new commodity here. McDaniels should score big here.
The game will be won based on how well the defense handles Stidham and possibly Dobbins, if the latter does play.
McDaniels knows Stidham. Look for the Patriots to overplay the run and dare Stidham to beat them in the air.
Get there a few days in advance to get used to the thin air and so that you don’t run out of gas in the fourth quarter.
And then…maybe…perhaps…
There is a first time for everything. Curt Cignetti said it best Monday night after his Indiana team won the whole thing: “It can be done!” Win a postseason game in Denver? Really?
It can be done.
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