NFL numbers
Well, what we expected came true.
The blowout in the nightcap of the conference championship round continued a sour runoff TV numbers for the NFL.
Minnesota-Philadelphia was a match-up that was panned by plenty from the start. Zero star power on offense. (Even with the Minnesota Miracle pulled off by Stephon Diggs and Case Keenum, you could make an argument that the best offensive player coming into that game was undrafted wide out Adam Theilen. Would you recognize Adam Theilen if he walked into your break room and poured a cup of coffee?) Teams built fundamentally sound in football terms but viewed as boring by casual football fans.
In fact, pregame predictions even mentioned 44 million – the absolute basement in terms of conference title games for the last decade. (And to be fair the numbers still dominate all of the ratings. Of the top-100 most-watched shows, 81 were live sporting events and 67 were NFL games. Nine of the top 10 last year were NFL games with only the Academy Awards cracking NFL’s dominance of the top spots.)
The Vikings-Eagles averaged 42.77 total viewers including streaming, which was 12 percent fewer than last year’s conference title game in the late window. The 21.7 rating was down 11 percent compared as well.
The AFC game, a thrilling tilt that featured the historic Tom Brady and a great comeback, was still down, compared to the early-window game last year. But it’s 27.3 rating was down less than 2 percent from last year’s 27.6.
Again, compared to the rest of television, that’s the most-watched show since last year’s Super Bowl. But the NFL has long-since dominated the ratings, and it must compare its numbers to previous production because the networks bidding on the games when the contracts expire certainly will.
That minuscule dip represented the best comparative showing of these playoffs compared to last January.
Here, listed from worst to best, are the results of the TV comparison numbers for the entire postseason (remember the comparable are to the postseason window from last season’s playoffs):
N.O.-Minnesota divisional: 19.3 rating (-26 percent); 36 million viewers (-27 precent)
N.O.-Carolina wildcard: 17.5 (-18 percent); 31.15 million viewers (-21 percent)
Atlanta-L.A. Rams wildcard: 12.8 rating (-14 percent); 22.8 million viewers (-15 percent)
Buffalo-Jacksonville wildcard: 15.15 rating (-13 percent) 25.3 million viewers (-15 percent)
Minnesota-Philly NFC title game: 21.7 rating (-11 percent); 42.77 million viewers (-12 percent)
Tennessee-Kansas City wildcard: 13.0 rating (-10 percent); 22.17 million viewers (-12 percent)
Tennessee-New England divisional: 14.5 rating (-9 percent); 26.69 million viewers (-10 percent)
Jacksonville-Pittsburgh divisional: 18.3 rating (-8 percent); 31.44 million viewers (-15 percent)
Atlanta-Philadelphia divisional: 15.5 rating (-4 percent); 27.07 million viewers (-6 percent)
New England-Jacksonville AFC title game: 27.6 rating (-1 percent); 45 million viewers (-1 percent).
The other tidbit worth noting is that these numbers are compared to last season’s playoffs, and last year nine of the 11 playoff games dropped in ratings and eight of the 11 dropped in viewers from the previous season as well.
(The two playoff games that saw increases in January 2017 were the epic Packers-Cowboys game in the divisional round and the Steelers-Pats AFC title game.)
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates a catch by wide receiver Phillip Dorsett during the second half of the AFC championship NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)Lingering Patriotic questions from Sunday
OK, loved the feedback on the Brady GOAT discussion on Monday.
Good times.
But as a spin-off from that, let’s go here:
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are heading to their eighth Super Bowl as head coach and quarterback. That’s a record for each spot.
Their careers and legacies will be forever entwined, and that’s OK.
We contend – and wrote this earlier during the playoffs – that Belichick righted the Patriots ship early, and a great deal of good fortune (every team, including New England, in the league passed on Brady for five rounds of the draft after all) and the momentum of a yearly Super Bowl contender have all added to the greatest the Patriots have crafted. (Or is it Kraft-ed, Spy?)
(And do not sell short the momentum and mystique of being an every-year-Super Bowl-contender folks. James Harrison does not sign on – and get a strip sack in the AFC title game – unless it’s the Patriots. Numerous guys through the years have taken less at the back end of their careers – think Chris Long last year – for the chance to win a ring.)
And Brady and Belichick deserve credit for that status.
But who deserves more? And who will be the first to blink in terms of desiring the lion’s share of that credit?
Now ask yourself if you have ever seen a head coach – even ones as stoic and purposefully unemotional as Belichick and Saban – be that detached when asked about a star player doing superstar things in extraordinary circumstances?
When asked about Brady’s performance despite having 12 stitches on his throwing hand last Wednesday, Belichick unloaded the “it’s not heart-surgery” dismissal. Hmmmmmmm.
Yes we have all heard the stories about how much Belichick loved Jimmy Garoppolo and did not want to part ways with him. And we all know that Belichick’s greatest asset as roster manager was his ability and willingness to cut players a year before rather than a year after. In truth, it’s not even close because the Patriots have been exceedingly ordinary by comparison in terms of the draft.
(To that point, there really is not a single over-paid player on the Patriots roster. And that position-by-position value is an amazing asset in today’s hard cap setting.)
With the credit angle as the baseline for the storyline of the next chapter of this franchise, and with the clear statement made by the organization – despite the circular denials and sidetracks from Bob, Brady and Bill – by dealing Jimmy GQ, that leaves the question of: Could Bill Belichick actually leave before Brady’s done?
Could he cut himself a year too soon rather than staying a year too late?
Who knows, but we believe it is more likely than ever.
FILE – In this Feb. 2, 2017, file photo, Tiger Woods reacts on the 10th hole during the first round of the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Woods made it back from his fourth surgery in time for the Presidents Cup, but not to play. Not even Woods knows when or even if he can return. He even acknowledged Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2017, a scenario that he doesn’t return to competition because he’s at a stage where he’s only hitting 60-yard shots. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File) Tiger’s back
Tiger Woods will make his 2018 PGA Tour debut this week at Torrey Pines.
It’s a historic golf course on which Tiger has made history. He has won eight times there, including the 2008 U.S. Open, which is still his last major win. (At that time in golf, even with the knee injury, what kind of odds could you have gotten back in 2008 on Tiger still being on 14 majors? 1,000-to-1? More?)
Anyhoo, this is going to be the first field that features a slew of recognizable name, and even though he has been out of the game for a while on this type of stage, none are more recognizable than Tiger’s.
The SportsLine computer model, which generates 10,000 simulations, has Tiger finishing 47th this weekend.
Thoughts?
(And no matter how he finishes, we glad to have him back in the mix.)
This and that
– Man, you better keep your head on a swivel if you go see the Eagles play. For the second consecutive week, Philadelphia as a home underdog won a playoff game outright, this time thumping the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. For the second consecutive week, the postgame win included numerous arrests. Among those was a 19-year-old who was put in the pit of misery (here’s betting some Co-Colas were involved, Dilly! Dilly!) for punching a police horse. Yes, you read that correctly. And it was the second consecutive week a drunken celebrator pulled a Mongo from “Blazing Saddles” and with their actions took the fight to the cops and the horses they rode in on. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/m/a2178ba5-2b2d-340f-8f69-e8653c66f341/ss_another-eagles-fan-arrested.html
– In an age in which we are becoming more and more immune to the “triple-double” last night DeMarcus Cousins did something special. Dude played 51 of 58 minutes in the Pelicans double-overtime win over Chicago and went 44 points, 24 boards and 10 assists. According to Elias, the last player to go 40-20-10 was Kareem in 1972.
– New Titans coach Mike Vrabel will reportedly not retain Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau. Man, Dick, you were aces. Vrabel also called Urban Meyer and Nick Saban part of the college football role as a minor leagues for the NFL. “The NFL has the greatest farm system in the world. We pay those coaches $10 million to be our farm system. Nick Saban is our farm system. Urban Meyer is our farm system.” While no one is denying that simple fact and we all realize that major college football is a de facto minor league system for the NFL – in which the college coaches are starting to make more than the NFL coaches – here’s betting those two dudes will not view that statement positively. In fact, here’s betting that statement will be repeated by Jay Bilas and those that continually bang the drum for college athletes to be paid.
– Thought this was an interesting breakdown of the rosters of the Super Bowl teams and where the players went to college from Alabama (three players) to Youngstown State (one). https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2018-super-bowl-rosters-by-college-conference-stanford-sec-pac-12-lead-the-way/ Stanford has five players in the game, more than any other school. The SEC and the Pac-12 each sent 25 players to these Super teams.
– Who knows how it will end, but the path to the finals of the Aussie Open continues to have the big names removed. Andy Murray sat out the first major of the tennis schedule. Novak Djokovic was upset earlier this week. Now Rafael Nadal had to retire in the fifth set of his quarterfinal match. Should they just hand the trophy to Roger Federer and be done with it?
– Thought this was interesting: Budweiser, which has forever called itself the King of Beers, has dropped to fourth in total sales numbers. Here’s the top eight: 1. Bud Light, 2. Coors Light, 3. Miller Lite, 4. Budweiser, 5. Corona, 6. Michelob Ultra, 7. Modelo Especial, 7. Natural Light. The report also said that the toll craft beers are taking on the big boys is significant. Bud Light sold 2 million barrels less this year. A decade ago the top 10 beers accounted for 66 percent of the sales nationwide; this year the top 10 accounted for 50 percent of sales as those craft beers -death by a thousand flavors – continued to gain popularity.
Today’s questions
True or false, you prefer flavored craft beer (i.e. Huckleberry Swill or Ginger Ale Ale or whatever).
True or false, Belichick will leave the Patriots before Brady does.
True or false, Tiger Woods makes the cut this weekend.
As for today’s date, Jan. 23, well, know this:
On this day in 1556, the deadliest earthquake ever killed more than 830,000 in China.
On this day in 1978, Sweden banned aerosol spray cans.
John Hancock was born on this day in 1737.
Tanya Harding is 45 today.
Former Lookouts celeb Wily Mo Pena is 35 today.
Let’s go there: Rushmore of three-name baseball players. No Wily Mo does not make it and no Junior does not count.
Go.