NFL

Full Tilt

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Is it safe to say that three of the top 6-8 quarterbacks in the NFL are in the conference championship games this weekend?

We’re talking about Hurts, Burrow, and Mahomes of course.  Purdy has been a pretty good surprise, but the resume is quite light at this point.

That the AFC has two great QBs in the final two while the NFC has only one is no surprise either.  When you run down from great to not so regardless of the conference affiliation you’ll find that the AFC is stacked and the NFC is wanting.

Mahomes, Burrow, Allen, Jackson, and Herbert are a strong top five for the AFC.  Throw in Lawrence, Tagovailoa, Watson, Jones, and Pickett as emerging upside types and the top ten is relatively equally as impressive.

Notice that absent from this AFC list are Wilson and Carr.

Wilson is a Super Bowl winner and a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who has thrown for over 40k yards.  He had a bad year and might be past his prime and then some, however.

Carr is a three-time Pro Bowler and amassed 35k passing yards.  He’s done being a Raider and might be headed to the NFC.

Ah, the NFC.

Any NFC list would start with Brady and Rodgers arguably the two best in the last 15 years regardless of the conference (sorry Drew Brees).

But, is Brady done with football?  Is Rodgers done with Green Bay?  Is Green Bay done with Rodgers?  Let’s go with no, yes, and yes for the sake of the following argument.

What if Brady replaced Carr in Vegas?  Whether you view Brady’s glass as half empty or half full it’s still better than half of the quarterbacks in the entire league.

What if Rodgers went to, say, the New York J-E-T-S?  Jets, Jets, Jets.   He’s still easily a top-ten NFL quarterback.

Those what if’s would tilt the AFC position of dominance at the most important position in football to an unprecedented level.

Compare all of the above to the NFC’s Hurts, Prescott, Cousins, Stafford, and Jones and you’ll see the tilt lite light up like the old 1970s pinball machines.

Throw in the next five who throw for NFC teams.  Goff, Wilson, Murray, Marietta, and, well, and, umm Geno Smith?  Jeez.

If you want to jump deeper into the imbalance fast forward to the NFL Draft this Spring.  The Houston Texans and the Indianapolis Colts, both AFC teams with picks # 2 and #4 respectively, will almost certainly draft high Round One QBs.

Bryce Young and CJ Stoud very likely will hear Roger Goodell announce that their immediate future will be in the AFC.

Super Bowls are won far more often with great quarterbacking than with complimentary quarterbacking.

The AFC is loaded with “win because of’s.”  The NFC is loaded with “win with and win in spite of’s.”

Jalen Hurts and Philly might put a hurting on the AFC in a few weeks.

After that, it looks like the AFC will put a hurting on the NFC for a few years.

 

 

How Bout Dem Boys?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

A known serial womanizer/assaulter squared off against a known massage parlor frequenter yesterday and the result was not a happy ending.

The NFL fall meetings took place in New York Tuesday.  And the fireworks were glorious.

The owner of the highest valued franchise, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, exchanged a few heated words with the owner of the most historically successful franchise, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

The catalyst was a motion to permit the owner’s compensation committee to begin negotiations on a new deal with commissioner Roger Goodell.

Jerry Jones was the one dissenter in the 31-1 vote in favor of beginning.  He wants Goodell’s next contract to be more performance incentive-based and less salary guaranteed.

If Jones, as President and GM of the Cowboys, was compensated that way he would be far less wealthy than he is, but we digress.

Jones told Kraft, “don’t f… with me.”  Kraft uttered, “excuse me?”  And Jones countered with “don’t mess with me.”  What started this?  Does it matter?

Boys.  Boys!  BOYS!  How bout dem boys?

Billionaires arguing about a two-three hundred million dollar compensation package is unseemly.

But wait, there’s more.

Colts owner Jim Irsay contended out loud that he believes there’s “merit” to consider the removal of Dan Snyder from the Washington Commanders’ ownership.  In an effort to oust Snyder over a series of serious internal missteps that there is now an investigation into whether Snyder was actually privately investigating the other owners so that the dirty ones would have dirt on the other dirty ones.

What’s Snyder getting the most heat for?  The heat stems from a steamy boy’s club front office that serially harassed female employees when the Commanders were the Redskins.  He should get heat for running a once proud franchise straight into the Fed Ex Field dirt, but we digress again.

It seems that DeShaun Watson’s off-of-the-field dalliances should immediately qualify him for ownership once his playing days end.  Of course, the NFL will allow none of his bad behavior to go unpunished.  It tarnishes the image of the game.

We ask once more, “how bout dem boys?”

 

Swarmy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The NFL received the punishment recommendation for DeShaun Watson yesterday.  It suspends him for six games and imposes no financial fine for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Former federal judge Sue L. Robinson, who was named the independent disciplinary officer in the case, handed down the ruling Monday.

The NFL and The NFL Players Association have about 48 hours left to appeal the decision.

Watson evidently attempted at least 24 passes to 24 different massage therapists. That’s how many came forward as the sordid tale wound through the criminal and civil proceedings.   That’s about how many he settled in civil suits with nondisclosure agreements attached.

Predictably the sports and social media world lit up.  The suspension is too much for some and not enough for others.

Comparisons to previous actions were fast and furious.

How can Calvin Ridley get a full season suspension for betting $1500 on NFL games?  What about Patriots owner Robert Kraft getting off (so to speak) without even a slap on the wrist for a few trips to the local massage parlor himself?  What about Ben Rothlisberger?  This means Alvin Kamara’s on-tape beat down in the Vegas elevator will only be two or three games, won’t it?

On and on it went, and on and on it will continue for a bit.

There are harsh realities to all of this hubbub.

One is that the NFL can do what it wants.  Its only obligation is to its conscious and to its checkbook, not in that order usually.

Make no mistake about it, their number one goal in matters like this is to protect their brand.  That’s why even the appearance of insider gambling is viewed as more grievous, and likely always will be.

In protecting the brand and its ever-increasing franchise values and gushing revenue stream, its fans (read as paying customers) must feel satisfied. That’s why Commish Goodell arranged not only for a female independent officer but a former judge.  Women worldwide are where the next leg up in viewer eyeballs lives.

Expect the NFL to appeal the ruling.  It looks good and has no downside.  The NFLPA has already asked to let the punishment stand.

But, what is Watson guilty of anyway?

Houston PD, its DA, and a grand jury went down the criminal investigation road and declined to file any charges.  Speculate all that you wish, but it’s “he said/she said” in the civil cases and bound by NDA’s.

Usually, where there is smoke there is fire.  And, the NFL’s own investigation found a four-alarm one.

We submit he’s guilty of not feeling guilty.  Denial and/or lying repeatedly isn’t a good look.

He’s maintained all along that he’s done nothing wrong.  And, that unto itself is wrong.  Man up.

This brings us to compare.  Remember Tiger Woods and a dozen or so dalliances he confessed to not long after his nine iron became a hood ornament on his Mercedes?

Tiger knew better.  Tiger confessed.  Tiger suspended himself.  Tiger asked for time. Tiger entered sexual addiction rehab.  Tiger came out the other side a better person for it.  Tiger today is adored by millions.

This has been a terrible look for Watson and by extension the NFL.  And, if nothing else, that’s why the NFL will hand down a six-game suspension at a minimum.

But, by mid-October Watson will be back throwing as many passes on the field as he attempted while on his back off of the field.

Above all, America loves a winner.  Cleveland craves one.

This too shall pass, like it or not.

It just feels swarmy.  Because it is.

 

 

 

 

Over Eight Easily in the Big Easy

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The average gambler is always amazed at how close Vegas comes to getting betting lines so close to real outcomes. But, the reality is that they get them  wrong as well.

The smart money, as they say, recognizes the miss before the game/season.  The rest of us bet either side, mostly on emotion, and Vegas gets the juice. Lines are made to evoke that collective response.  Vegas always gets the juice.

This brings us to season-long NFL wins bets.  We’ll have three (maybe four) for you in the next month or so.  Today is our first.

The New Orleans Saints’ win total in Vegas is 8.  It was 7 1/2 when it rolled out in March.

In the last five seasons only the Kansas City Chiefs have more wins than NOLA by a count of 55-53.

So, what’s changed?  Drew Brees (in 2021) and Sean Payton(now) are no longer.  Those are two BIG changes.

But another thing changed last year.  The NFL went to a 17-game schedule.  Therefore, Vegas thinks that the Saints will have a losing record in 2022.

BBR feels strongly otherwise.  Below are a litany of reasons.

  1.  Dennis Allen is now head coach.  He’ll call the in-game defense just as he has for the last six seasons.  He’s a steady and heady guy.
  2.  And the defense was very good the last two seasons.  We expect it to be even better. Two first-round picks (Payton Turner and Marcus Davenport) missed all or a big portion of the season.
  3. The defense has a chance to be elite this year.  Cam Jordan and DeMario Davis are true leaders.  The secondary might be the deepest in the NFL.  It added Tyrann Matthieu as well.
  4. Jameus Winston must 1) stay healthy, and 2) have a strong season as one expects of a former first pick of the first-round guy.  The constant change of personnel and coordinators in his NFL life combined with his immaturity has held him back.He’s saying and doing all of the right things this offseason.  He was 5-2 as the starter last year with only two picks before the season-ending injury.
  5. He’ll have weapons.  The team has positively transformed its weak wide receiver group.  In this one off-season, Marquez Calloway drops from the #1 wideout, which he never was, to a #4 which he’s more than capable of succeeding as.   Michael Thomas returns.  They drafted Chris Olave in round one.  They signed FA Javis Landry for the slot.  A weakness became a strength.
  6. Laugh all that you want, but N.O. signed a very capable backup should Winston face plant.  Andy Dalton became a punching bag in Cincinnati.  But, he’s a nine-year starter and an 11-year veteran in this league for a reason.  Quick, name two legit weapons he had while a Bengal.  He’s thrown for over 35k NFL yards.  If he wasn’t good he’d be long gone by now.
  7. The Saints’ special teams rank in the top 10 in most categories.  They put an emphasis on it.  Will Lutz is back to health and kicking this fall.  The team missed seven extra points and eight field goals in his absence.
  8. The law of averages says that this team will be healthier than last year.  Four QB’s started and 66 players started one game or more in all.  Sixty-six!  66!  The injury bug landed in The Crescent City and stayed there all of the fall.  Covid visited too.
  9. The division should provide 4 wins at a minimum.  Stated simply, Carolina is weak.  Atlanta is awful.  And the Saints have the Buccaneers’ number.  They’ve beaten them in the last four regular-season (Brady-led) games.
  10. Take those four and you need five more to cash.  So, can the black and gold go 5-6 against the rest of the schedule?  We think so and then some.  Watch for Alvin Kamara’s pending suspension though.  Courts move slowly.  He might not be suspended until late in the season, or even 2023.   When announced, how many and when the games are played is key.

Take the Saints over eight wins.  We see their record as 10-7 or better at the finish line.

Prop Bets Laced with Logic

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Super Bowl betting is expected to cross $7 billion this weekend.  BBR wants to do its part in ensuring that you’re on the winning side of your wagers.  We tackle a few below and the logic behind them.

Coin Toss–  Take Heads ($10.50 to win $10.00)  This one is a no-brainer.  The headwinds are blowing across the land on the economic/inflationary front.  And as a bonus, Team Biden is putting their collective heads together to solve this transitory situation.

Coin Toss Winner-  Take the Bengals ($10.50 to win $10.00)  This one is a no-brainer part two.  Per Dodge, there are no Rams on the lot due to supply chain issues.  Team Biden dodged the question about when the truck maker might see any chips or even bumpers for that matter.

First Score of the Game-  Take Anything other than a Touchdown or Field Goal ($10.00 to win $200.00).  Think Safety.  We’ve been thinking about safety for 24 months.  Surely all of these masks will pay off soon.

Total Combined QB Sacks- Take Under 5 and 1/2 ($24.00 to win $20.00)  This is the best bet of the weekend.  The world thinks Joey Burrow will get hammered six or so times himself.  Vegas is begging you to take the over.  Vegas knows.  Vegas always knows.

Will Either Team Score Three Unanswered Times in a Row-  Take Yes ($24.00 to win $10.00)  Think Jen Psaki for inspiration.  She “unanswers” three or more questions in a row daily.

Total Net Yards in the Game- Take under 769 and 1/2 ($16.00 to win $10.00)  Both offensive lines are like the Canadian Truckers.  They’re quite effective but moving far too slowly for some.

First Offensive Play of the Game- Take Rushing, not Passing ($12.00 to win $10.00)  Think Ukraine for inspiration.  We’re rushing in to help when we should be passing.  Some experts even recommend punting on first down on the frozen tundra of Ukraine.

Total Fumbles Lost by Both Teams-  Take over 1 and 1/2 ($10.00 to win $19.00)  Close your eyes and think Biden with no teleprompter.  Fumble.  Or, think Biden with a teleprompter.  Fumble.  Winner.  Winner.

The Margin of Victory-  Take the Bengals by 7-12 points ($10.00 to win $65.00)  With the Rams favored by 4 and 1/2 this would seem to make no sense.  Channel the last two years of your life that make no sense and let it ride.

We’d like to give a special shoutout to the NFL for suspending any covid-19 protocols including testing and isolation for the big game.

They need to make money to pay off Brian Flores.

We need to make money to fill up our gas tank.

 

 

Making History This Month

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One day after Whoppi Goldberg said that the Nazi Concentration Camps were not about race, Brian Flores filed a suit saying that the NFL is all about race.

So yesterday, 2/1/22, the first day of Black History Month, history was made all over again.

The NFL and its playoffs were flying high with the Super Bowl two weeks away.  The class-action lawsuit that Flores filed against the NFL sucked the air right out of that.  Its timing, the first day of Black History Month is purposeful.

Brian Flores was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-to 2021.  Philosophical differences were cited by owner Stephen Ross and team management for his unexpected and abrupt firing two weeks ago.  Since then Flores has interviewed for the Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and Houston Texans HC jobs.

His class-action lawsuit against the NFL, the Giants, the Broncos, the Dolphins, and the other 29 teams alleges racial discriminatory hiring practices and abject prejudice against persons of color seeking or serving as coordinators and head coaches.

The suit goes in many directions, but the two loudest claims made by Flores are 1) that the NY Giants interviewed Flores for the HC position to be compliant with the Rooney Rule after the team had already decided to hire Brian Daboll, and 2) Dolphins owner S. Ross treated Flores with “disdain” and portrayed him as “someone who was non-compliant and difficult to work with” after Flores refused to purposely lose games to enhance their 2019 draft position.

Expectedly, the NFL and the three teams deny any wrongdoing.

A now published copy of the text exchange Flores had with Bill Belichick is the impetus for claim #1 above.  In it, Belichick texts “Sounds like you have landed-congrats!!”  Flores texts, “I interview on Thursday.”  Belichick back, ” Got it- I hear from Buffalo and NYG that you are their guy.”  Belichick thinks he’s texting Daboll (same first name Brian and same spelling).  Belichick, “Sorry I f’ed this up.  I think they are naming Daboll.  I’m sorry about that. BB”

The NY Giants claim that Flores was considered until the 11th hour.  They will also claim that what Belichick wrote is pure hearsay.  A court of law might decide on both.

The age-old argument for more minorities in the OC, DC, HC, and GM positions is “look at how many minorities are on the field and how few are in the front office.”  If one buys into “because one has plenty the other should as well,” then the question becomes “why would the same people who fill rosters with the most qualified to win, and are 70% plus minorities, not want the most qualified to coach or manage them regardless of color as well?”

In other words, is the NFL prejudiced off of the field but not on it?  And, if so, why would Ross hire Flores in the first place?

Flores interviewed for the still vacant Texans HC position last week.  The Texans fired David Culley, who is black, after one season.  Culley is 66 years old and was never an OC or DC prior to being named HC a year ago.  If they had hired a white HC who had never been an OC or DC prior would the outrage from the minority coaching community have been palpable?

Culley was terminated for multiple shortcomings (clock management, strategic management, etc.) and was paid his full buyout of $22 million for one year of work.  If you are a racist, do you hire a black guy to fire him a year later and cough up $22,000,000?

So, what is the appropriate amount or percentage of minorities that should occupy the aforementioned positions?  Is it the same as the overall population?  That would be 13% black.  Is it the same as on the field?  That would be north of 60% black.

Or should it be whoever is the most qualified?  Seventy-three percent of polled Americans would prefer Joe Biden pick whom he feels is the most qualified next SCOTUS Justice, not corner himself with a campaign promise of selecting a black female.  Even 54% of polled Democrats agree with this thinking.

Give Flores credit.  He chose principle over a lucrative livelihood in all likelihood while still considered a finalist for the Texans’ job and while meeting with the Saints’ brain trust LAST NIGHT for their vacant HC position.  Timing is everything.

He calls the Rooney Rule(teams must interview at least two minorities with every opening) a sham. And, it is.  And, it has been.  It’s kowtowing to a cause.  But, teams following the rule as it was intended prove nothing about racial discrimination.

Throw it away and just interview who you think is the most qualified for your team’s leadership needs.  The Steelers and Dan Rooney did just that when they hired Mike Tomlin 15 years ago and counting.

It is odd though that a 60-page class-action suit could be discussed, written, and filed in such a short period of time.  It’s almost like a 1k page House Bill that Nancy Pelosi pulls out of her top drawer.

Still, if he has an agenda that he believes in it’s his right to go forward with it whenever chooses.

Will Brian Flores ever work again in the NFL?  Doubtful.

Fifty percent of Americans think America is racist.  Fifty-plus percent of Americans is tired of 50% thinking it’s racist.

Will America ever work again?  Hopeful.

Will Flores’ action be looked back upon as historic?  For better, for worse, and for sure.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If you’re already done with the Keto diet New Year’s resolution, or if even if you never committed to it, a good serving of protein never goes out of style.  Our first 10 Piece Nuggets of 2022 are right below and right for you.  We start with the NFL, visit where the world turns, and end with the end of the college football season.

  1. Today in NFL circles is known as Black Monday, the day coaches are terminated.  GM’s are exempt either. But the clock has accelerated.  Urban Meyer and Jon Gruden beat their brethren to the punch.  One got a little handsy in his bar, the other got a little wordy in his emails.
  2. Urban’s former Jacksonville team shocked, and we mean shocked,  the NFL “experts.”  And, with that, the Indianapolis Colts got bounced right out of the playoffs.  The Colts stunk up the joint yesterday, losing 26-11 in a game that was 26-3 till late in the fourth.  WWFICJMHS?  What would former Indy Coach Jim Mora have said?  Playoffs?   It never gets old.
  3. Meanwhile, well west of there, Indy’s loss was The Las Vegas Raiders gain.  They beat the LA Chargers as the OT clock struck zero and backdoored their way into said playoffs. Interim head coach Rich Bisaccia is making the go-forward decision for Raiders owner Mark Davis harder by the week.  The game got very squirrelly at the end as a tie could have put both teams in.  Is that a squirrel on Mark Davis’ head?  We digress.
  4.  The Denver Broncos ousted Vic Fangio on Sunday.  Will the Minnesota Vikings push Mike Zimmer out into the northwest winter today? It’s very likely.   And, expect one or two surprises as always today or tomorrow.
  5. Who?  Bears Coach Matt Nagy would not be a surprise.  Pete Carroll would be a mild surprise.  How about Matt Rhule of Carolina?  He sacrificed Joe Brady, his OC, six weeks ago, but he’s done little to turn the Panthers around. Nothing that the Texans would do would surprise anyone.  The rudderless franchise ousted Bill O’Brien a year ago.  Is first-year coach David Culley safe?   Probably.  He’s cheap labor and the Texans aren’t going anywhere next year even if they had Nick Saban at the helm.
  6.  What were the chances that the San Franciso 49ers would make the playoffs after punting to the Rams while trailing by seven with 1:57 remaining in the game?  To win they needed to force a three and out, prevent the Rams from scoring in regulation, score a TD with no timeouts left, and win in OT.  Next Gen Stats, the authority on such matters, pinned the chance at 0.4 percent.  To state the stat differently, the chances were 1 in 250.  Bingo!  And, just like that the playoff air in New Orleans went poof!
  7. Changing gears, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a board member for Pfizer, agreed with Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel’s prediction that people will likely need a fourth shot of vaccine after the initial two doses and a booster. Gottlieb told Barron’s that Covid-19 vaccines will likely become an annual shot people get every year going forward in the fall.  Money, money, money, goes the Abba song.
  8.  Why as more and more double vaxxed and boosted folks test positive do government officials get angrier at the unvaxxed, even threatening them with economic harm?  Also, why are asymptomatic peeps standing or driving in long lines in the cold to get tested?
  9. Will we have a mandate that holds up?  We’re guessing that Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor thinks so.  Friday she claimed that over 100,000 children were “in serious condition” because of Covid -19.  The CDC has a slightly lower count at 4,132.
  10.  And, it seems like Alec Baldwin is out there just like Orenthal James Simpson once was looking for the real killer.  Baldwin is publically blaming right-wing zealots(reasons unclear)  and “cooperating” with the investigation of the Rust filming death by refusing to turn over his cell phone.  Both are accomplished actors, for sure.
  11.  And, a little lagniappe as we call it in the biz, Georgia is favored by 3 in Indy this evening over Alabama for the FBS Championship.  How can you bet against Nick Saban?  Vegas is telling you something.  Are you listening?  Georgia 30, Bama 24.

Bundle up.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Ten days removed from the Thanksgiving holiday, we offer the Ten Nuggets deep-fried.  They’re deep with thought and might fry your mind.

  1.  The Cuomo brothers hit the unemployment line within weeks of one another and deservedly so.  They have a right to unemployment benefits, and apparently, they’re taking the Grate (on you) State of New York up on the opportunity per CNN.  They’ll need 24 feet to socially distance while in line.  First one brother, then six feet back is his ego, then the other brother and six feet back is his ego.
  2. CNN did a two-segment, 15-minute dive into what went wrong with Chris Cuomo and his waning days at CNN on Sunday.  It’s a self-aggrandizing network covering its self-aggrandizing show host’s downfall. Serial lier.  And, now comes another sexual misconduct complaint claim against him.  You’ve heard of like father, like son?  This one is like brother, like brother.  Our staff member that covered it is out 15 minutes of his life that he can’t get back.
  3. Jussie Smollett and Ghislaine Maxwell are on trial for two very different crimes.  Both are quite guilty and will be found so.  Smollett’s fake attack/bungled plan is laughable.  It was his worst acting job and he’s had a few.   And, it’s quite sad that he attempted to further divide a city and country with fake race allegations.  He’ll probably get a couple of years probation.  He should be made to pay back the city of Chicago every dime that they spent investigating this trash.
  4. Maxwell’s case has nothing funny about it.  You have to feel sad for the numerous young victims.  Kudos to four of them for having the courage to testify.  Adults taking advantage of the young is the lowest of the low.  She’ll get to serve some hard time that Jeffery Epstein was too much of a coward to face.
  5. Speaking with the Washington Times last week, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the recent smash and grab allegations of “organized retail theft” as a hoax with not much evidence to back it up. “National retail groups last month estimated the annual losses to being in the tens of billions of dollars,” reported the AP.  “Respectfully, the Congresswoman has no idea what she is talking about. Both the data and stack of video evidence makes fairly clear that this is a growing problem in need of solutions,” said Jason Brewer, Retail Industry Leaders Association Senior VP.  In 2020 she was reelected with nearly 72% of the votes cast in the 14th district of the still Grate State of New York.  Let that sink in.
  6. You heard it here first.  Omicron will be the catalyst to turn the United States back into people who think rationally about the never-ending covid quagmire.  The hysteria has peaked and alternatives are beginning to emerge.  There’s way more to this than to line up like sheep and get a jab and think that’s the answer.  More coming this week.
  7. In the sports world, four is the number.  The NCAA playoff committee seeded Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnatti one through four, for a chance to win it all.  With all of the yearly fuss about who could and should get in, the results from the season and conference championship games usually work their way out.  Georgia is a surprisingly high eight-point favorite over Michigan, while Alabama opened as a 14 point choice over Cincinnati in the semi-finals.
  8. Since 2014 Nick Saban has led his Crimson Tide onto the playing field as an underdog a mere three times!  In each of these contests Bama won the game by 17 points or more.  Saban owns Kirby Smart too.  He’s 4- 0 vs. his former assistant.  Smart called Saturday’s 41-24 beatdown a “wake-up call.”
  9. Four is the number of losses that all four division leaders in the AFC have as the season reaches the 2/3rds mark.  This makes for some interesting games down the stretch starting tonight when Buffalo (7-4) tries to take the East Division lead back from New England(8-4).
  10. In the NFC North and South, the Packers and Bucs lead their divisions by a whopping four games already.  In the West, the Cardinals lead by two over the four-loss Rams who figure prominently in the wild card at a minimum.  In the East, the Cowboys have four losses and lead the division.  They play the suddenly hot Washington Football Team twice in the next three weeks.   A sweep would put the Pokes four games up.

Get back to work now.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Random

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Start your shortened work week off with a Ten Piece Nuggets serving.    We air-fried them to save calories for Thursday.

Unfortunately, be forewarned, nuggets one and two don’t taste too well.

  1.  Waukesha, WI is a nice, easy-going, do for others, slice of America.  It’s a 75k citizen suburb due west of Milwaukee.  But unfortunately, this AM it’s a major crime scene and an international story.  We’ll spare the details as everyone with a TV is aware of “what” happened.  It seems like the “who” part of the event is already in custody.  The “why” part is unknown.  BBR hopes that all of the 40 or so injured make a full recovery.  Wisconsin is one of only 12 states that does not have the death penalty if you were wondering or hoping.
  2. Waukesha is about a 50-mile drive from Kenosha.  Does last night’s rage have anything at all to do with the Rittenhouse trial outcome/unrest?  Our guess at this moment is that they are unrelated based on the “person of interest’s” recent individual scrapes with the law.  But, for Wisconsin, a go-along to get along state, it’s far too much bad press in far too short of a time window.  One minute you’re watching a fun festive holiday parade, the next…………    Sometimes words fall far short in their ability to describe true feelings.
  3. Reece Witherspoon following the lead of other Hollywood folks expressed her outrage about the Rittenhouse verdict.  She tweeted yesterday, “No one should be able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon, cross state lines and kill 2 people, wound another, and go free. In what world is this safe … for any of us?”  He didn’t purchase it.  He didn’t cross state lines with it.  Kenosha is about 5 miles from Illinois, but we digress.  In this world a jury of his peers voted on it.  Facts matter, but never ever let that get in the way of a good narrative.
  4. You can like Tucker Carlson on Fox or not.  You can like the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict or not.  And, you can hear Kyle’s story in his own words this evening at 7 pm CST on Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox.  The show regularly gets very high Nielsen Ratings.  Tonight, they’ll soar higher.  What a scoop!
  5.  Some fine folks in San Francisco decided to loot (pick clean) the Louis Vuitton store in Union Square in SF Saturday night.  Nordstroms and two other high-end stores were targeted as well.  What a fine city SF once was.  What a cesspool it now is.  We’d cite the very left, liberal thinking officials that run the place as the main reason for its downfall, but that would be too easy and too accurate.  The only job in America harder than selling neckties these days would be the head of tourism for SF.
  6. Turning to sports, Dan Mullen, the Florida Gators head football coach was sacked yesterday.  The Gators lost to Missouri 24-23 in OT a week after Samford (that’s Samford, not Stanford) scored 52 on his D.  He could have and should have been let go last week, but the loss made it all the more unbearable.  If you look up the word quirky in the dictionary Mullen’s picture will be next to the definition.
  7. Suddenly there are several big-time NCAA football coaching jobs open.  With new TV contracts and teams jumping to form super conferences, money is flush.  How else can you explain Mel Tucker getting 10 years and $95 million to coach Michigan State?  He hasn’t won his division within the conference, and won’t this year, much less won the conference.  Ohio St worked the Spartans over Saturday.  It was 49-0 at the half.  It finished 56-7.  It’s great work if you can get it.  Tucker got it.  Texas A&M was the first college to jump the shark with three loss Jimbo.  Others will follow shortly.
  8. With a week of the season left to play, Texas, LSU, Florida St., Florida, USC, Virginia Tech, TCU, and Nebraska all have losing records.  It’s been a while for all eight of those to have down seasons at the same time.  All have (or had-TCU) job openings in 2021 except Texas and Nebraska.  Texas wouldn’t pull the plug on Sarkesian in his first year, would they?  Frost is a coin flip to stay at Nebraska after the season ends Saturday.
  9. The very successful Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll might be burning out after nearly 12 years with his team.  “I’m just not any good at this,” Carroll said of handling this level of losing. “I’m not prepared for this. I’m struggling to do a good job of coaching when you’re getting your butt kicked week in and week out.”  Minutes later he walked out of the news conference in mid-question.  He’s a young-looking 70 years old.  Time will tell.   It always does.
  10.  So, who is the best team in the NFL?  Wait a week and the answer will change.  It’s exactly what the brand wants-most everyone thinks they can get hot and get to the playoffs, and then to the biggest stage of all.  Don’t look now but the New England Patriots have won five in a row.

Baked, smoked, or deep-fried?

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

In cold enough way down yonder to consider a big ole pot of gumbo for dinner this evening.

Gumbo is a whole bunch of “stuff” blended smartly over a long cooking time.  As are the sports nuggets below.

If you’re a health nut what’s better than 10 Piece Nuggets early and gumbo late?  No need to answer that one.

  1.  But, if you were in an NFL survivor pool going into yesterday are you still in one coming out?  A scant few early season upsets prior turned into a blood bath yesterday.  Buffalo scores only six and loses 9-6 at Jacksonville.  Dallas got run out of Jerry’s playground by Denver.  Atlanta beats New Orleans who last week tattooed Tampa Bay.  The New York Giants took it to the Raiders.
  2. Last night Tennessee also took it to the LA Rams.  Vegas had the Rams as the favorite.  No Derrick Henry, no problem for the now 6-2 Titans.  Could the Titans secure home field throughout the AFC playoffs with Indy, Jacksonville, and Houston in their division? You bet.  They play physical ball for sixty minutes every sixty minutes that they suit up.
  3. The New England Patriots are now 5-4 after three straight wins.  They played Tampa Bay and Dallas tough in close losses.  Is their best football ahead of them?  It needs to be as they face their division-leading 5-3 Buffalo Bills twice in the coming weeks.   If they manage to get a leg up on Buffalo they close out the seventeen week schedule with the woeful Dolphins and hapless Jets.  It’s never too early to look ahead, is it?  Two words.  Bill Belichick.
  4. Odell Beckham Jr. is looking ahead as well. He will be a free agent this time tomorrow now that the Browns said enough already.  He’ll take his “talents” and his cancerous attitude to some team hopeful of the good outweighing the bad.  It will soon be marriage number three for OBJ and some desperate team.  Ditto the Raiders as DeSean Jackson is apparently headed there.  There is a reason why some talented players play for more teams than you would think they should.  Jackson started his career with the Eagles, then theRedskins, Bucs, Eagles again, and Rams.  The next stop is Vegas baby.  What could go wrong there?
  5. The Browns might have added by subtracting.  With OBJ gone they lambasted the Bengals 41-16 in Cinncinatti.  Their defense is good enough to make a run.  Will Baker Mayfield and the offense find a new identity?  Yesterday was a great start. He still held a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3 in the third quarter as the Browns became the first team since 2012 with three touchdown plays of 60 yards or more.
  6.  It’s a different league, but maybe it’s the same result.  In the NBA the Philadelphia 76ers, who are dealing with a star sidelined for a different reason, have risen to the top of the East as Ben Simmons continues to be away from the team.  Ben is troubled.  The 76ers suddenly are not.  We’ll leave it at that for now.
  7.  In MLB, fresh off of their World Series loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Houston Astros offered Carlos Correa a 5-year deal valued at about 32 million a year.  Sounds like good work if you can get it.  But, for Team Correa, it will be adios amigo as some team (Yankees?) will nearly double the years which effectively doubles the money guarantee.
  8. Correa is one of many, many free agents available as the Hot Stove League kicks in gear.  At the shortstop position alone in addition to Correa stands Javier Baez, Trevor Story, Marcus Semien, and Cory Seager on the newly unemployed line.  Assuming baseball doesn’t lock out the players in a labor dispute, the comings and goings will be quite interesting this offseason.
  9. One way to extend your shelf life as an NCAA head football coach is to blame your assistants when your team struggles.  After three consecutive losses, Florida’s Dan Mullen fired DC Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy on Sunday.  South Carolina embarrassed them Saturday.  The Washington Huskies fired OC John Donovan.  The decision comes a day after a loss that drops the Huskies to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12.  And, Oregon State DC Tim Tibesar was fired yesterday as the Beavers defense sunk to the bottom of the PAC 12 after a decent start.  Make them the bad guys even though you hired them in the first place.  It buys you a year and quiets the opposition some on the recruiting trail.
  10.  Georgia is #1 and second place isn’t close as the jockeying for the four playoff spots hits the far turn.  A very valid argument could be made for about eight teams to fill the final three spots as of now.  But, “that’s why they play the games,” someone once famously said. It’ll sort itself out.  It always does.  One thing is certain though.  Alabama is #2 because of its history, not its play on the field this year.  Still, they control their chances as they will face Auburn in the Iron Bowl in two weeks.  If they pass that test, Georgia looms in the SEC Championship in the Georgia Dome.  The committee wouldn’t still put them in the top four with two losses, would they?

Pass the rice.