NFL Power Poll
Before we get to the top and bottom five, I think we can all agree on this with these quick five points with five weeks left in the regular season:
1. My fantasy season is done. And we’re willing to bet that everyone who took Leonard Fournette as their RB1 – like I did – is also done.
2. The NFL seemed less fun this past weekend without the high-flying, high-scoring circuses from K.C. and L.A. in action.
3. Right now there are only three NFL MVP prop bets: Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes and the field. To wit, the latest odds from the sharps in Vegas have Brees at -210 (which means you have to bet $210 to win $100), they have Mahomes at +200 (bet $100 to win $200) and the next closest two are Todd Gurley and Jared Goff, each of whom is listed at +1600.
4. Speaking of some of those stars, man the NFC looks like Rams-Saints and everyone else fighting for the scraps. Maybe you could make an argument for the 7-3 Bears being a tough out, but everyone else in the NFC looks closer to the middle than the top.
5. That said, the AFC could be a free for all. Everyone is at least a game behind the Chiefs, but start going down the list. The Pats will be there. The Steelers will be there. The sneaky really good Chargers are not going away. The Texans hammered the Titans last night and have won eight straight. That’s five teams with at least seven wins and some swagger.
Powerful (And we know the elite can move the football – each of the top five is in the top eight in the NFL in yards and points per game – so we are going to examine the worst stats for each of the elite. Deal? Deal.)
1. New Orleans (10-1). The Saints are in the bottom five in the NFL in passing yards allowed (3,143) and yards per passing attempt (8.4). Some of that is because the Saints are sprinting to big leads, but some of that yards per attempt number is really concerning. Here’s the bottom five in yards allowed per passing attempt: Oakland (8.8), Tampa Bay (8.7), Detroit (8.6), New Orleans (8.4) and Miami (8.2). Not exactly the company you are hoping to keep this year, no?
2. L.A. Rams (10-1). The Rams are allowing 5.2 yards per carry, which is the second-most per rush in the league. That fact has been glossed for the most part because a) the Rams score a ton of points and opposing teams are forced to air it out to keep pace, and b) read point A. Will be interesting to see a team like a Chicago, which has a defense to slow any high-flying O, stay committed to the run against a Rams team.
3. K.C. (9-2). That thing we just typed about the Rams, well, it applies exactly to the Chiefs in each direction. K.C. is allowing 5.0 yards per carry, and man, in the likelihood that the AFC playoffs are going through a cold-weather town, the thought of those pass-rushing Chiefs defensive linemen getting really tired of tackling James Conner or Melvin Gordon or Sony Michel seems like a recipe for postseason trouble.
4. New England (8-3). There are two for the Patriots. One, can the offense avoid injuries? This Pats team is as dangerous as any of the high-flying groups above if they are healthy. Gronk makes a world of difference – which makes sense because he’s a world-class difference-maker – as does Michel. Two, this team is clearly different on the road. New England is 5-0 in Foxboro and 3-3 in the road whites, and those three losses are not exactly to the creme de la creme of the league. Those three losses were lopsided setbacks to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Detroit, which is a combined 12-19.
5. L.A. Chargers (8-3). We gave the Chargers the final spot over the Texans and the Bears because of what the Bolts have at QB. Philip Rivers is playing at an unbelievable level. Dude was 28-of-29 Sunday. Read that again. (Side note: How did the Titans get steamrolled with Marcus Mariotta going 22-of-23 Monday night? Please explain. We’ll wait.) Anyhoo, the Chargers also have arguably the best collection of receivers 1-through-4. As for shortcomings, well, there’s the fact that the Chargers do not have a home-field advantage even when they are at home. And going on the road in the AFC is going to require long-johns and heavy coats. There’s also this: The Chargers are averaging more than seven penalties per game, which is in the bottom five in the league. In January self-inflicted wounds get your good players invites to the Pro Bowl rather than dates for the Super Bowl.
Powerless
28) New York (3-8). Yes, there is no nickname here. Each team from New York is 3-8 and each is extremely flawed. In fact, if we are either the Jets or the Giants, we are waving every white flag in sight. Making sure everyone is healthy and trying to get higher on the draft board. New York, New York, baby. If you can’t make it there, you can’t make it anywhere. (Or something like that.)
29) Jacksonville (3-8). Which is going to be the bigger head-scratcher at the end of the season, Jags over Pats or Bucs over Saints? Jacksonville has fired its QB, benched the QB it inexplicably extended in the offseason, has discussed trading the best shutdown corner in the league and has suspended its bell cow running back. Ah, everything seems so smooth right now, right?
30a) and b) Arizona and San Francisco. Each 2-9. Each joined in the same division and by the same collective misery of being terrible. Side question: Let’s ignore the Alabama vs. an NFL team, what would the spread be, and ask this – If you combined the Cardinals and the 49ers and the San Phoenix Carders went to New Orleans, how many points are the Saints favored by. On a serious note, the most recent arrest and release of 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was another bad mark on the league, its players and especially the 49ers, who at the very least ignored the black-flags Foster carried into the league. News comes now that Foster, who has been in and out of trouble since his days at Alabama, was also arrested for domestic violence earlier this year. The 49ers say they were unaware of that one, but after last week’s arrest in Tampa – his third inside a year; the charges were dropped in the first arrest – Foster has been released. Not sure if he will get another chance in the league or not. If he doesn’t, well, wow, that was a Hall-of-Fame talent wasted. Wasted.
32. Oakland (2-9). Man, the Thanksgiving highlights likely did not make Oakland fans all that thankful. Yes, the Raiders stock-piled first-round picks, but man, they better use them wisely, because Amari Cooper (eight catches, 180 yards and two TDs) and Khalil Mack leading a Bears defense that had two sacks and two picks – including one returned for a TD – sure looked like bona fide top-10 talents last Thursday.
Alabama sophomore receiver Jerry Jeudy has 56 catches for 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, averaging a whopping 19.3 yards per reception.College statements
Jim Harbaugh is on the hot seat. Overstatement. But man, if Harbaugh and that Michigan defense – which will lose a lot of dudes to the draft – was not able to beat THE Ohio State this year, when can Michigan fans truly expect to win THE Game? All of the Michigan people are saying the right things and we’re not sure there are many guys out there that are no-doubt, slam-dunk better coaches than Harbaugh. But man it’s hard to remember a 10-win run that feature multiple weeks inside the top-five of the rankings that will be less fondly recalled than this Michigan bunch who had book-end losses to hated Notre Dame and even-more hated THE Ohio State.
Alabama minus-13 is the perfect line for the SEC title game. Statement. Man, Vegas is good at this. It started at 10.5 and the Alabama devotees who like to hunt entertainment quickly loaded up and moved it to 13. That figures to be about where the number is set.
There’s fire beneath the smoke at Auburn. Understatement… statement… overstatement… who knows? It’s Auburn for Pete’s Sake. But last night brought a bevy of rumors, up to and including that Auburn was prepared to unload close to $100 million to buyout Gus Malzahn and back the truck up to Bob Stoops’ bank of choice. It got so crazy that Stoops had to issue a strongly worded non-denial denial.
Other than the SEC title game, the rest of Saturday is shaping up to be pretty dreck-tastic. Understatement. Seriously, the second-best title game in terms of match-ups and meaning may be the American showdown between Memphis and UCF. And know this, the AAC hired a savvy marketing bunch that came up with a great pitch. The AAC is pitching itself as part of the the Power Six conferences – showing UCF football and UConn women’s hoops among the highlight packages – rather than the Power Five and Group of Five. Slick play American. Very slick. ‘Murica.
Tonight’s playoff ranking is all about who is at 5. Statement. Oklahoma or THE Ohio State? Who you got, and there is no overstating the importance of that poll position since 1 and 4 (Alabama and Georgia) will play Saturday in the ATL.
Brian McCann looks on during a baseball game against the New York Mets in Atlanta in this July 15, 2012, file photo.Braves making moves
Welcome back Brian McCann.
Hey, a veteran catcher always pays dividends. Look what it did for Cleveland when Jake Taylor returned for that famous run that was the subject of the documentary “Major League.”
And since Kurt Suzuki left town, the Braves had a need back there, and McCann and his .217 average and seven homers in limited work in Houston, seems like not only a great fit but a good bargain at $2 million per.
As for the other Braves announcement, well, we’re curious about the public reaction.
Atlanta dished out $23 million for 32-year-old third baseman Josh Donaldson. Yes, Donaldson – War Eagle, sir – was the AL MVP in 2015. Yes, he struggled last year with injuries and hit less than .240 in a very limited sample size.
Two questions here: Is $23 million too much or a calculated gamble for a guy who will be extremely motivated to prove he’s worth another multi-year deal after 2019?
Second, what now becomes of Johan Camargo? Do the Braves believe him to be a supreme utility guy with actually offensive value? Camargo played third, short, second and left field last year. Could Camargo be the answer in left with Ronald Acuna Jr. moving to right? Maybe.
Could Camargo and some young arms be shipped somewhere – say San Fran for a Madison Bumgarner – for an ace? Let’s see.
But the Braves are spending, that’s for sure.
This and that
– Man, the craziness that was the LSU-Texas A&M game could not even be contained in seven overtimes. Here are some more details on the postgame fight.
– Mack Brown is back coaching. He’s the new/old coach at UNC.
– That, friends was a bad loss for the Titans last night. Bad.
Today’s questions
True or false? True.
True or false, Mack Brown is going to work out at UNC.
True or false, you like the Donaldson addition at that price.
True or false, Gus Malzahn is the Auburn football coach this time next week.
As for today, Nov. 27, two all-timers who died too soon – Bruce Lee and Jimi Hendrix – were born on this day.
Also, Golic or Wingo celebrates its one-year anniversary today. Extra T or F – true or false, Mike Greenberg regrets this entire decision/ordeal/etc.
Frozen, the highest grossing animated movie ever was released five years ago today.
It also is national turtle adoption day. Rushmore of turtles and be creative.
Go and enjoy the day.