NFL power poll
It’s staggering where we are with QB play in the NATIONAL Football League, and that it took Colin Kaepernick completely botching a job interview not to generate interest from the Bears (did you see Sunday night?), the Broncos, the Dolphins or even the Buccaneers.
(Side question: Want to know the world’s best example of how fantasy sports are not real sports? Meet Jameis Winston, who actually is a top-10 fantasy QB because of quantity and big-play ability despite the fact that he offers more turnovers than a German bakery.)
So how many of the QBs slinging it right now would you be willing to trust in three years?
It’s crazy to think about, right? Because there are several dudes who we do or recently used to trust in the moment. But do you trust Brady, Brees, Rivers, Big Ben, Cam, Stafford or several others moving forward?
The QB questions heading into the offseason and the free agents and the rookies make this a very intriguing time.
Chief among those items of interest is where does Tua Tagovailoa land after his injury?
(Side points about Tua: First, those wondering if he comes back, why? Why come back when you can rehab in the NFL and get paid doing it? Second, the only thing Tua could do coming back is actually hurt his draft stock. Third, does anyone else think that Tua will fall on draft day and then the Patriots move up into the early 20s and take him? Sigh. Another decade of New England excellence.)
But if you look at the best teams in the league, the correlation is as clear as the cliché. (Or is it?)
Powerful
1. New England (9-1). Call ’em stubborn. Call me set in my ways. I’m not budging on the Patriots until Bill and Brady are no longer together.
2. New Orleans (8-2). Yes, I’m that high on these Saints. Yes, they lost to the Falcons, but everyone this side of the Patriots has a “How’d that happen?” moment on their schedule.
3. Baltimore (8-2). He has taken a step forward certainly, but as good as he has been, does anyone else wonder what Lamar Jackson will do in the postseason?
4. San Francisco (9-1). The record demands respect, but it’s really hard to believe in these 49ers long term. Who is the player that will convert third-and-6 in the postseason? We’ll wait.
5. Green Bay (8-2). Buy Packers stock friends, because of all the QBs having MVP-level regular seasons, do you trust any of them like you trust Aaron Rodgers when you need to go 70 yards in 90 seconds with one timeout and your season on the line? Again, we’ll wait.
Powerless
28. Denver (3-7). Yes, the Jets have the same record and likely do not have the same level of talent across the top 22. But, gang, you have to wonder how bad a team has to be to blow a 20-0 halftime lead. Forget the records, this may be too high for the Broncos.
29. New York Giants (2-8). The only question about this season is whether we get any kind of gauge on what Daniel Jones could be. Does anyone have any inkling at this point?
30. Miami (2-8). Way to remember the mission, our mouthy mammal friends. That said, man, the Tank for Tua sentiments now seem somewhat callous, no?
31. Washington (1-9). Man, when a rookie as bad as Dwayne Haskins is questioning his offensive linemen the dysfunction is not strong enough.
32. Cincinnati (0-10). Hello Bengals, our old friend.
Lookouts on the look
Hard not to have “what’s next” thoughts about the possibilities of the Lookouts no longer being connected to Major League Baseball – which could be a death sentence in the long term.
First and foremost, that would be tough on my tots, who love an evening at the Lookouts game for a variety of reasons – the sneaky-good pizza, the spinning wheel at the entrance, the chance to spend more than a fair amount of coin in the gift shop, the lazy smile that the second ballpark “CoCola” brings to Daddy’s face.
Second, if you are looking for more info from the Lookouts’ point of view, here’s TFP all-around ace David Paschall’s report on the matter.
That said, I think this entire conversation is less about the stadiums or the facilities from the MLB point of view as it is about paying the minor league players more money without actually increasing expenses.
MLB bigwigs know that the details of the lawsuits filed by current minor league players who claim they are playing/working for less than minimum wage must be addressed.
And this move is a broad stroke in addressing that basic business concern – increase expenditures + reduced employees = net neutral – that many may be missing.
Still, as TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer notes here, we are scarred as a city by all our previous sporting events/teams leaving.
But those generalities and sentimentalities that give us all pause do not necessarily mean the stadium is anything more than a tangent in the bigger picture in terms of this conversation of MLB connections.
And if that is the case, if we are going to look seriously at the stadium issue, in the macro sense we must realize that a) the new owner of the Red Wolves soccer franchise here is building his own playground without public money, and b) the keepers of the local money certainly have a lot of folks/causes lined up looking for help and assistance (starting with our county school system).
Man, this feels like the Lookouts are about to be crossed off, doesn’t it?
Grab a tissue
OK, for the most part, professional golfers are as sentimental/soft as Willie’s classic “Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning” when it comes to fan noise and/or heckling.
Well, this one is beyond the expected rabbit ears and beams a moment that reminds us all why we love sports.
Meet Brandon Matthews, a professional golfer trying to scratch and claw his way through the minor leagues of the sport and make his claim.
Matthews missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole on the most recent event at the PGA Tour Latinoamerica event as a fan was yelling and heckling him.
Yes, most pro golfers who would rather blame Mother Teresa than accept responsibility for anything this side of the “Game is better when Tiger’s in contention” conversation. And that was Matthews’ was first inclination.
But, despite losing a spot in next year’s British Open if he had won, Matthews showed what it means to be the champion golfer of the year off the course.
Originally upset at the loud outburst during his putting, Mathews learned that the spectator who yelled during his crucial putt has Down Syndrome.
Here’s what Matthews told the PGA Tour Latinoamerica website: “It was a middle-aged man with a mental disability. He said something and got excited. There’s nothing you can do about that. The guy was out there, he was enjoying it. I feel for the guy. I’m sure he felt terrible, that’s why I went and gave him a glove and a ball afterwards and gave him a hug. It’s just one of those things that happens. Unfortunately it was out of my control.”
That’s a birdie in the picture, my friends.